The Life of the Legendaries
by Zarrelion
Summary: It seems the Legendaries have it easy: relax and watch over the Earth while living in the ultra-luxurious Hall of Origins. But one name threatens their idyllic life: Cyrus. Can the Legendaries and their Pokémon trainer allies take down this madman?
1. Chapter 1: Land and Sea Collide

This is my first legendary shipping fic (as well as my first shipping attempt), so please tell me if I am doing something wrong.

**Note that I will try and showcase all the legends but not all of them will be shipped. **

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Chapter 1: Land and Sea Collide

Arceus, a large white equine being with gold hooves and a gold wheel around its midsection, levitated from the kitchen over to her throne. There, she placed the bowl of tortilla chips next to her cup of coffee. She picked up one of the chips and slowly munched on it.

It was a normal day in the Hall of Origins: home to the Legendary Pokémon. The sun's rays shone brightly through the tall windows.

Suddenly, the calm was shattered by a loud crash coming from the end of the hall.

Arceus immediately got to her feet and headed over to the source of the disturbance, which happened to be the recreation room.

***

In the rec room, Groudon, a large, red lizard pokémon, and Kyogre, a large, blue whale pokémon were in the midst of brawling. Rayquaza, a long, green and slender dragon pokémon, along with Mewtwo, a tall catlike pokémon cheered them both on.

"Try and spy on me in the shower will you!?" Kyogre hissed. Her body glowed blue for a moment. "Take this! Water Spout!" A shockwave of water issued forth from her body, the two spectators levitated above the ground so they were unaffected by the attacks but the watery wave drenched then entire rec room.

Groudon grunted as the wave of water slammed into him. "What is wrong with you?! It's not my fault that we have to share a bathroom!" The black lines running across his body started to glow red. "Gah! Earthquake, go!" he shouted, stomping the ground as hard as possible, sending a nearly invisible shockwave towards Kyogre.

The shockwave threw Kyogre around but also ended up destroying the rec room.

Kyogre recovered. "Taste my Hydro Pump!" she shouted, sending a powerful jet of water at Groudon.

Groudon tried to move out of the way but the jet of water was too fast. The jet struck him in the crotch. He soon toppled over, clutching his groin in agony. "You win," he squeaked out.

Kyogre grinned as Mewtwo and Rayquaza gently floated down.

"I must say, I liked that battle." Mewtwo said. He was grinning widely.

Rayquza chuckled. "You like any battle." He then flew over to Groudon and helped him to his feet.

"You okay?" Rayquaza asked.

"I got shot in the nuts with a Hydro Pump! Does it look like I'm okay?!" Groudon shouted.

"Let's get out of here before Arceus finds out." Mewtwo said.

"Too late," a voice behind them said.

All the heads turned and spotted Arceus hovering in the doorway.

"Who made this mess?" she demanded.

Mewtwo surrounded Groudon and Kyogre with a bright red psychic aura, which was his way of saying "They did it!"

Arceus sighed. "I got this rec room as a gift for everyone and you two end up wrecking it. I will think of a suitable punishment for you two later." She then left the room.

Mewtwo and Rayquaza left the room and headed to the library, leaving the two legends behind.

"I hope you're happy! Arceus is probably going to make me sell my Seabed Veil to pay for the damage you caused." Kyogre spat.

"Shut up." Groudon replied. He then left the rec room to return to his room. Kyogre did the same.

***

Arceus returned to her throne with a sigh. There, Giratina, a large six legged basilisk-centipede pokémon greeted her.

"Tough day?" Giratina asked. He was sipping a large cup of black tea. He gently draped a black wing across her shoulders.

"Pretty easy compared to what's going to happen later. And that's saying something because Groudon and Kyogre trashed the rec room." Arceus responded.

Giratina choked on his hot tea. "The rec room that I sold my Shady Dust to help pay for?!"

Arceus nodded.

Giratina tried his hardest not to cry as he spoke. "I sold my favorite possession to pay for that and they wreck it?!"

"It's okay, Gira." Arceus responded. "I'm going to make them start paying for all the crap they've wrecked." She then reached into her bowl of tortilla chips only to find it empty.

"Jirachi!" she shouted, her voice echoing throughout the Hall.

Giratina sighed. "This is going to be a rough day," he muttered.


	2. Chapter 2: Judgment

Chapter 2: Judgment

Arceus paced around the living room of the Hall of Origin. The living room was decorated in a tasteful gold and white color scheme, not unlike the colors of Arceus herself.

"Arc, is there something wrong?" Giratina asked. He was reclining on the couch; the one thing in the room that was not gold and white. Instead the couch had black arm rests, gold cushions and a red back.

Arceus stopped her pacing. "I'll call a meeting." She then closed her eyes and sent a wave of psychic energy throughout the entire dwelling.

***

Darkrai sat up in his bed as he received the psychic message. He had been sleeping just before the message. He tossed the blankets aside and hovered down to the ground. He looked around the darkened room. All that he saw was the barely visible black dresser with a statuette on it. The statuette was a perfect image of Darkrai himself, right down to the glowing blue eye.

"Someone's watching me," he muttered. He then peeked under the bed and saw two magenta eyes staring back at him.

"Cresselia, I know you're there. Get out from under my bed," Darkrai said, pointing to the door.

Cresselia, floated out from under the bed. "Fine," she replied. "I just wanted to ask when we can go out together."

"For the last time, I will not go out with you! Get out of my room!" Darkrai shouted.

"Fine. In any case, I have to because Arceus is holding a meeting," Cresselia said. She then floated out of Darkrai's room, leaving him alone with the statuette.

Darkrai sighed. "At least she didn't try to steal my statuette like she did last time," he muttered. He then petted the statuette as he floated out of the room.

***

Dialga was lying on Lugia's bed and staring at the wall. Lugia's bedroom was decorated in a unique combination of white, silver and dark blue. A blue and white dresser rested against one wall and several paintings were plastered on the walls. Lugia himself was painting something in the corner opposite the bed.

"WHY DID PALKIA HAVE TO DO HIS SCULPTING INSIDE OUR ROOM?" Dialga asked with a sigh.

"Can you talk normally?" Lugia responded without taking his eyes off his canvas.

"BUT THIS IS THE WAY I ALWAYS TALK." Dialga responded.

"Well, your normal voice is too loud!"

"TOO BAD. I CAN'T CONTROL IT."

Lugia sighed. "Then how about saying nothing at all?"

"FINE," Dialga responded. He then got up from the bed and peered over Lugia's shoulder.

"WHAT ARE YOU PAINTING?"

"A recollection of the time when 'The Chosen One' and I had to prevent Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno from destroying the world. When will those three learn that even gods cannot do as they please? You should have seen how mad Arceus was at them."

Several minutes later, Lugia had finished and framed his painting. He then looked at Dialga. "Do you always sound like you're talking in all capital letters?" Lugia asked.

"YES," Dialga replied.

Lugia facepalmed. "In any case, I can hear Arceus calling us for a meeting," he said, flying out of his room.

Dialga then followed him out to the hall. The hallway was unremarkable save for the wallpaper.

Dialga glanced at the wallpaper in disgust. "WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A PLAIN SILVER AND BLUE WALLPAPER? THE FLOWERS ON IT ARE NASTY," Dialga commented.

"Blame Shaymin for it. She's the one who picked it out. And we're lucky Arceus drew the line at the wallpaper or else we'd have gracidea flowers everywhere," Lugia replied

"Don't like the wallpaper, eh?" a voice said.

Dialga and Lugia looked around the hallway. All that was visible were the silver light fixtures on the wall and a large black spot on the dark blue carpet

"WHO ARE YOU?" Dialga demanded.

"Dialga, Lugia, you should know who I am," the voice responded. Darkrai then rose out of the floor in front of the two.

"SHOULDN'T YOU BE AT THE MEETING?"

"I was on my way there," Darkrai responded, "But since I overheard you talking about the wallpaper, I thought I'd listen in. Having the ability to sink in and out of the ground at will allows you hear a lot of things. Did you know that Mew still…"

"In any case, let's continue," Lugia said, cutting Darkrai off.

The group then continued down the hall into the living room.

***

Lugia, Dialga and Darkrai arrived at the living room just in time to see all the Legendaries gathered in front of Arceus's throne. Except Giratina, he had not moved from his couch.

Arceus hovered just above her throne. Her empty bowl of tortilla chips was still by her feet. In front of her sat all the Legendaries with the exception of Mewtwo, Ho-Oh and Deoxys. All of them chattered amongst themselves while they waited for Arceus to speak. After a few moments, Arceus raised one of her forelegs to signal for silence.

"As you are all aware, the recreation room and some of the surrounding area has been completely destroyed, thanks to Groudon and Kyogre fighting over some inane reason," Arceus said.

"I propose we exile them from the Hall of Origins for a millennium. This sort of behavior will not be tolerated," Entei said.

"I second that motion," Suicune added.

"I third that motion," Raiku said.

Arceus nodded. "Okay," she said, "so we've exiled them for a millennium. We don't have to worry about Kyogre and Groudon wrecking anything else. Now the problem remains, we have to fix up the stuff they've damaged. Now is anyone here willing to pay out of their own pocket or work to earn money for the repairs?"

Only Lugia and Articuno agreed.

Arceus looked at the two. "Exactly." she said, "So, any other suggestions?" She then looked over the crowd and spotted Latios raising his arm.

"Yes, Latios?"

"How about we make Groudon and Kyogre work off the damages they caused?" Latios said.

"I second that," Latias said.

"I third that," Darkrai said.

Arceus thought a moment. "Perfect. Now all we have to do is to wait for Mewtwo, Ho-Oh and Deoxys to finish calculating the damages." She then spotted Jirachi flying above everyone's heads. "Jirachi, please sit down," she ordered.

Jirachi floated down to the ground and landed next to Shaymin, who was apparently asleep.

"Hey Shaymin, wake up," he said, prodding the sleeping Legend. It was after repeated prodding that "Shaymin" fell over and broke.

Everyone turned their heads at the sound of breaking porcelain and spotted Jirachi hovering next to a broken flowerpot, a mound of dirt and some scattered gracidea flowers

"I MADE THAT AS A GIFT FOR SHAYMIN!" Palkia exclaimed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCEPT OF APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR?! FIRST, YOU STEAL ARCEUS'S CHIPS THEN YOU BREAK MY FLOWERPOT!"

Jirachi sniffled slightly and floated away from Palkia. At the same time, everyone turned and stared at Palkia.

"DISREGARD ME," Palkia said, blushing slightly.

***

Inside the water drenched and battered rec room, Ho-Oh, Mewtwo and Deoxys were examining every nook and cranny.

"East wall shows significant water and impact damage. It will need to be replaced. Furthermore, the door has been completely destroyed. It will also need to be replaced." Mewtwo said, examining the rear wall. He then levitated up to the ceiling and examining the hanging lamp or what was left of it. "The lamp has been obliterated. Palkia will need to be commissioned to make a new one. It should be the same type as the previous one, a red and orange sphere hanging from a gold chain. It should not exceed ten inches in circumference," he said.

"Got it," Ho-Oh replied. She was busy writing everything down on a clipboard.

Deoxys was examining large hole in the north wall. Latias and Latios's room could be seen through the hole. Deoxys then peered through the hole and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Mewtwo asked, floating down to ground level.

"Look for yourself," Deoxys replied.

Mewtwo stuck his head through the hole in the wall and looked around. The Lati siblings' room was decorated in a red, blue and white color scheme. There were two dressers, two beds and two nightstands. Latios's furniture was blue and white, while his sister's furniture was red and white. His eyes fell on life sized plushies of Latias and Latios, each of them sitting on their respective dressers. He suppressed a chuckle. "Aren't they a little too old to have plushies?" he asked.

Deoxys shrugged. "What they do isn't our business. They could be screwing each other for all I care."

"That was not an image I needed in my head," Mewtwo said with a sigh.

"You two! Stop snooping and get back to work!" Ho-Oh snapped.

Deoxys and Mewtwo did as they were told.

Mewtwo levitated up half a pool table. "Anybody found the other half?" he asked.

Deoxys pointed to a pile of wood and green fabric. "There's the other half," she said.

"Add that to the shit we need to replace. One regulation size pool table, green felt top, integrated ball storage and integrated chalk holders," Mewtwo said with a sigh.

Ho-Oh wrote that down.

Deoxys looked around the room. "I think the pool table's the last thing in here," she said.

"Good, we'd better bring this to Arceus," Ho-Oh said, flying out of the room.

Mewtwo and Deoxys followed her. As soon as they left the room, the large bay window, which was teetering precariously, fell down and shattered with a mighty crash.

***

Ho-Oh, followed by Deoxys and Mewtwo entered the living room.

"Ah, so you're done calculating the damages?" Arceus asked.

"We are indeed." Ho-Oh replied, "When labor is factored in, the damages come out to roughly 957,500 Poké. And that's not including the stuff that we can't buy."

"Like what?" Giratina asked. He had finally moved off his couch and was now standing next to Dialga.

"Palkia's custom made lamp and…"

"GROUDON, KYOGRE! EXPLAIN WHY YOU DESTROYED THE LAMP THAT I MADE AS A GIFT?" Palkia demanded.

Groudon averted her gaze. "Well, a Solarbeam isn't selective. It destroys what it hits. Think of it as my gaze, I can't not look at Ky…"

"Enough of that." Arceus said sternly, "And Palkia, don't interrupt."

Palkia grumbled but remained silent.

Ho-Oh cleared her throat. "In any case, Palkia's custom made lamp and sculptures along with Lugia's custom wallpaper and carpeting are the irreplaceable items destroyed."

Arceus nodded. "I have decided the penalty for Groudon and Kyogre. You will have to work off the damages in addition to 250,000 extra Poké. You will be working together as a rescue team under Wigglytuff's Guild." She then looked at Rayquaza. "One other thing, don't think you can help them get over their punishment faster by working in the guild alongside them," she added.

"Can we work with the guild if we need some spending money?" Mew asked. He was flitting above everyone's heads.

"Yes. But your earnings will not be counted towards their penalty. And Mew, please spend wisely, Celibi's a little upset that you kept mooching off her for money."

"Yes, Arceus," Mew responded with a giggle.

"This meeting is over. I have to speak to Guildmaster Wigglytuff regarding the punishment," Arceus said. She then turned to Regigigas. "Regigigas, please ensure that the Hall of Origins is still standing when I return."

"I WILL DO AS YOU COMMAND," Regigigas said.

The Legendaries dispersed to do their own things as Arceus summoned a swirling blue portal. She then stepped into the portal and vanished.


	3. Chapter 3: Wigglytuff's Guild

Chapter 3: Wigglytuff's Guild

Over the peaceful Pokémon community of Treasure Town, a swirling blue portal opened up in the sky and through it, came Arceus.

She gracefully floated down to the town square, where the inhabitants were going about their daily business. As soon as they saw her approaching, they immediately either began bowing to her or fleeing in terror.

"M…My….My Lord, what b…b…b…brings you…here?" an Ursaring said.

"Punishment," Arceus said simply.

At this point, all the townsfolk began panicking. The air was perforated with the sounds of screaming and crying.

"**WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE**!" A Loudred screamed at the top of his lungs.

Two Pokémon, a Garchomp and a Dragonite prostrated themselves before her.

Arceus sighed at the display of mass panic. "Not punishment for you! Punishment for Kyogre and Groudon!" she said.

At this moment all the pokémon ceased panicking.

"Now, in any case, when Groudon and Kyogre arrive in town, I want you to treat them like any other Pokémon. Don't worship them, don't beg them for mercy, none of that. I want them to be treated like any normal pokémon. Now I need to get going to the Wigglytuff Guild," Arceus said.

With that said, she walked down the road to the Wigglytuff Guild. The road itself was a four way fork with helpful road signs. She took the northern path and ended up at the doorstep of the guild.

"Well, here goes…" Arceus said as she stepped on the grate in front of the barred entrance to the guild.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" a voice blared from beneath the grate.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" another voice demanded.

"It's…It's no way!"

"Spit it out!"

"The footprint is Arceus's! The footprint is Arceus's!"

"What?!"

At this moment, the bars in front of the entrance retracted and the guildmaster, a portly Wigglytuff came out.

"Hey friend," the Wigglytuff said.

"Are you the guildmaster?" Arceus asked.

"Yep!"

"Okay, I need to speak to everyone in the guild,"

"Right this way!"

Wigglytuff led Arceus into the main entrance which bore a few signs, including a "No trespassing" one and a ladder which led into the depths of the guild. Arceus looked around and noticed that even Groudon would be able to fit in the guild without problems.

Wigglytuff climbed down the ladder and Arceus, not bothering with ladder, hovered after him.

They had now arrived at the second floor, where all the trainees of the guild were gathered. Arceus looked around for a moment. Three bulletin boards were next to the ladder she descended and a desk with a Chimecho behind it was on the right wall. Another desk rested against the left wall. This one was crewed by a dour looking Smeargle. All the pokémon in the room stared at her. Some even bowed.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's Arceus!" Corphish said.

"That's the coolest, yep, yep!" Bidoof said.

"Oh my gosh! Arceus is really here!" Sunflora said.

"Could it be?" a Blastoise who went by the name "Breaker" said.

"Everyone, Arceus has an important announcement to make," Wigglytuff said.

Arceus then cleared her throat. "In a few hours, Groudon and Kyogre will be coming to this guild,"

A collective gasp ran through the group.

"Wow! Three gods visiting us in one day! We must be blessed!" a Treecko by the name of "Querc" added.

"They are not here to bless you. They are here to be punished," Arceus said. "And while they are here, I want you to treat them like ordinary pokémon. No worshipping them or anything of that nature. This meeting's over."

She then hovered out through the ladder passageway.

"So, I guess it's back to work now?" Breaker asked.

"Yeah." Querc replied. He went up to Breaker.

"So what mission are we taking today?"

Querc looked over the missions list. "Oh, here's a good one. 'Go on a salvage expedition with Murkrow to find the lost loot. Location: City Ruins. Difficulty level: 1 star. Reward: ???'. Damn it! We won't get reimbursed for this one. Oh well." he said. He then pulled the piece of paper off the bulletin board and went over to the desk with the Smeargle behind it.

"We are taking this mission. I am Querc of Team Water Blade." Querc said. He then handed the piece of paper over to the Smeargle.

The Smeargle took the piece of paper and placed it in a bin by his feet. He then handed them a small sheet of paper. "You are all ready to head out," he said.

Querc and Breaker headed out of the guild.

***

Arceus was inside the Spinda Café enjoying some apple soda. Some paintings were on the walls and some rather nice iron statues of a Lucario and a Spinda flanked the entrance. Several other patrons were in the café, drinking, eating or recycling goods and trying to win at the lottery.

***

Back in the Hall of Origins, Regigagas was desperately trying to maintain order in the living room where Lugia had decided to throw a rave and all the Legendaries, even the normally reserved Mewtwo decided to join in. A large speaker system built by Mewtwo was placed atop Arceus's throne and it was blasting out _Running Man_.

"JIRACHI! CELEBI! GIRATINA'S GRISEOUS ORB IS NOT A TOY!" Regigigas shouted as he tried to catch the aforementioned orb as Jirachi and Celebi tossed it back and forth with their psychic powers. All while giggling happily.

Giratina was unconscious on his couch with a half finished bottle of Shaymin's Oran Berry wine on the ground next to him.

Registeel, Regice and Regirock were beeping in tune to the music_._ Mewtwo had telekinetically levitated a strobe light of his own creation above the dancing Legendaries.

The Lati siblings and Deoxys – in her Speed Forme - darted around the room at breakneck speeds an in complex patterns.

Shaymin, in her much smaller Land Forme, had a gracidea flower joint in her mouth but it was not yet lit. She went up to Heatran, who was serving as the pyrotechnician for the party. "Heatran, light my joint for me!" she demanded.

"Shaymin, I'm busy right now," Heatran responded. He then signaled to Ho-Oh, who was across the room from him.

"Fire Blast!" Ho-Oh shouted as she shot a cruciform fireball towards the ceiling of the living room.

"Flash Cannon!" Heatran shouted. He opened his mouth and a white beam issued forth and struck the cruciform fireball. Both projectiles collided and exploded in a shower of burning sparks.

"Heatran! Now will you light my joint?" Shaymin demanded.

Heatran sighed. "You should have Mewtwo make you a lighter or something. Just press the joint against my leg," he said.

Shaymin did so and the joint started smoking. She then took a deep draw and a white flash surrounded her. When the light cleared Shaymin was now in her Sky Forme.

"Thank you so much!" Skymin said. She then joined in the complex flight of the Lati siblings and Speed Forme Deoxys.

_She really is nicer when she's had her dose of gracidea._ Heatran thought.

Regigigas had finally retrieved the Griseous Orb that Celebi and Jirachi were playing with. He placed it back onto its proper place on the mantle. He then turned around to see Jirachi trying to lock Mew, who was apparently asleep, into the display case next to Arceus's Jewel of Life. "JIRACHI! MEW IS NOT A DISPLAY ITEM! PUT HIM DOWN!" he ordered. He then slowly made his way to the display case but it was too late; Mew was already in the display case and to add insult to injury, a placard reading "Please Do Not Eat" was placed in front of him.

Regigigas sighed and removed Mew from the display case and placed the "Please Do Not Eat" placard back in its proper place.

A blue glow emanating from the foyer signaled Arceus's return.

"Guys! She's back!" Lugia said.

Mewtwo hastily teleported the speaker system and strobe light back to his room. Palkia took the bottle of wine, opened a portal to his room, reached into the portal and placed the bottle of wine on his dresser. There was nothing they could do about the unconscious Giratina.

Arceus then strode into the living room, where all the Legendaries were gathered. She looked at Regigigas. "Anything to report?" she asked.

"NOTHING THAT I COULD NOT HANDLE," Regigigas replied.

"Good. Now in any case, Kyogre and Groudon please step forward," she said.

Kyogre and Groudon did so and Arceus opened a swirling blue portal.

"Now this portal leads to Treasure Town. I want you two to head straight for Wigglytuff's Guild. It's the building with a Wigglytuff head on it. You can't miss it," Arceus said.

Kyogre and Groudon gulped as they stepped through the portal and vanished. She then closed the portal.

Arceus then went back to her throne and drank some of her tea, now cold.

The other legendaries went to their rooms to rest.

***

Celebi was happily bouncing on her bed. Her roommate Mew was cuddling a plushie of himself, which was on his bed. The room itself was a strange combination of a green leaf motif for Celebi and a light pink coloration for Mew.

"Aren't you a little old to be bouncing on the bed like that?" Mew asked.

Celebi did a flip at the apex of her bounce. "And aren't you too old to be sleeping with a plushie?"

Mew giggled. "You got me!" he said. He then joined Celebi.

***

Dialga was back in Lugia's room and he was busy snooping through his closet. All he found were boxes upon boxes of paper and assorted art supplies but one box buried in the back stood out. It was plain box that looked exactly like the others except for the words "For night use only" printed in heavy black lettering.

Dialga carefully nudged the lid open with his head and as soon as he saw what was inside, his eyes widened in shock. Inside was a stack of diapers that were printed with the stylized symbols for fire, ice and lightning along with other "cute" graphics. And what was worse is that were apparently in Lugia's size.

"CURSE MY CURIOSITY!" Dialga said out loud.

"Dialga! I'm back!" Lugia's voice called from outside the door.

The door opened and Lugia returned with a box of paint. He looked around and noticed that his closet door was ajar and some of the boxes had been moved. "Dialga! Were you digging through my closet?" he demanded.

"NO," Dialga replied.

"Don't lie," Lugia replied. He then sighed. "I swear you're worse than Darkrai."

"OKAY, I'M SORRY."

"Fine, just stay out of my closet."

Lugia then took out a sheet of blank wallpaper and some paint and got to work painting new wallpaper. Dialga was watching him paint.

"LUGIA, WHY DO YOU HAVE…" Dialga asked before Lugia silenced him with a glare.

"You will not talk of what you found! Or for that matter, because you can't seem to talk normally, at all when I am painting!" Lugia replied.

***

Mewtwo was sitting at his table and working on his latest project, a lighter for Shaymin. His bed was levitating several feet off the ground. One wall was filled with science books from every discipline. The back of his door had a promotional poster for the company he and Deoxys occasionally work for, Gallade Chemical. The poster was rather bland, simply the company logo, which was a stylized rendition of a Gallade's head, and the name of the company – all in green and white.

Mewtwo took a sip of some strong black coffee out of a mug sitting at his right elbow. He then got to work adjusting the airflow valve for the lighter.

"Shaymin better appreciate this," he muttered.

***

Groudon and Kyogre arrived at the Wigglytuff Guild's front gate. Like when Arceus first arrived, the gates were barred.

"Well here we are." Groudon said with a sigh. He then stepped onto the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" a voice blared from beneath the grate.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" another voice demanded.

"The footprint is Groudon's! The foot print is Groudon's!"

The bars retracted. "Come in!" a voice said. Groudon did so and he carefully climbed down the ladder.

Kyogre floated onto the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" a voice blared from beneath the grate.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" another voice demanded.

"The footprint is Kyogre's! The foot print is Kyogre's!"

"Come in!" a voice said. Kyogre floated down the ladder.

Soon they arrived at the main floor of the guild. There Wigglytuff and Chatot were there to greet them. Several other pokémon were milling about preparing for missions but they paid the two Legendaries little notice. Several large windows let a surprising amount of light even though the base was underground. Several torches, unlit, dotted the tan, rocky walls as well.

"Hey friends! It's always nice to have new friends!" he said.

Chatot looked over the two. "I suppose you two are the ones Arceus told us about. I am Chatot. In any case, you should not expect special treatment because you are Legendaries. You will be subject to the same rules as an ordinary pokémon," he said. "In any case, because you are assigned to rescue team work as a punishment, you cannot pick your own team name. Instead, you are currently registered as Team KyGrou," he said.

"That name sucks!" Kyogre spat.

"Too bad."

Wigglytuff then handed out two circular badges with a pair wings on it to both Kyogre and Groudon. The badges were made of some white metal with a clear green gemstone in the middle. "These are your exploration team badges."

Groudon and Kyogre took them and almost immediately, the badges produced a silver ribbon and they dangled from the two pokémons' necks.

"Cool," Groudon said, examining the badge.

Wigglytuff handed a large satchel to Groudon. "And this is your item bag. It allows you to hold items that you may come across in your explorations. And whatever you do, don't put an item bag inside another item bag. The results aren't pretty," he said.

Groudon opened the bag and inside were a pecha scarf and a blue silk. "Nice, we got some stuff to start off with," he said.

"And finally, you'll need this: the wonder map" Wigglytuff said, handing a map over to Groudon who placed it inside a conveniently located pouch inside the item bag. "Chatot will now show you around the guild," he added.

Wigglytuff then headed down the stairs.

Chatot pointed to the three bulletin boards near the ladder. "That's our message center. The left bulletin board has missions. The central one is for announcements and serves as a general chat center. You're welcome to place anything you want there but keep it tasteful. The right one is for outlaws with bounties on their heads."

"Got it," Groudon replied.

Chatot then pointed to the desk with the Smeargle behind it. "That's the registration desk. Once you choose a mission, you rip it off the bulletin board and bring it over there. That way, we avoid sending out multiple rescue teams for one mission and disputes over rewards." he said.

"One question, how are missions chosen?" Kyogre asked.

"First come, first serve. Occasionally, a team will decide not to do a mission. When that happens, Smeargle simply posts the mission request back up on the board and anyone else can take it."

Chatot then pointed to the desk with Chimecho behind it. "That's Chimecho Assembly. She manages the recruits of the other teams. The recruits technically aren't members of the guild so they can't live here. Most of them live in Treasure Town so they are ready to go as soon as she calls. As for you, I may allow you to start recruiting if you do well in your duties but for now, you're not allowed to recruit," he said.

Chatot then went down the ladder down to the first subfloor of the guild.

The floor looked exactly the same as the main floor, right down to the massive windows and torches on the walls.

Chatot then pointed to a Croagunk shaped rock with a cauldron in it. Not surprisingly the pokémon who operated the stand was a Croagunk. "That is the Croagunk Swap Shop. If you get any rare items he'll be happy to swap them for you. For a small fee of course," he said.

He then pointed over to an elaborate green, white and pink door. "That's the guildmaster's quarters. Stay out of there unless you have a good reason," he said.

Chatot then led the two into the west passageway. The short passageway opened to an enormous dining room with several wooden tables. A small manual elevator sat in the back corner. Several windows let in an ample amount of sunlight. Several torches, unlit, dotted the walls of the dining room. Groudon and Kyogre stared in amazement.

"This is the mess hall. Food is free as long as you are trainees of the guild," Chatot said.

Chatot then led the two Legends out of the mess hall. He then pointed to a ladder sticking out of a hole in the southwestern corner of the room. "That's the sentry post. It's normally manned by Diglett and Loudred," he said.

He then led the two down another ladder. This room was completely devoid of sunlight but the cool blue flames of torches provided an ample amount of light. The rock walls had changed too; they were no longer the tan rock of the upper levels but they were a black color. "This and the floor below hold the living quarters for the trainees. The kitchen is also located here but I can't see any reason why you'd be in there," he said

Chatot then led back up to the first subfloor and led the two Legends into the eastern passageway. There, the road split into a three way fork.

"Your room is at the end. The others lead to male and female staff bedrooms," he said.

Groudon and Kyogre entered their bedroom. In it were piles of straw on the ground that served as beds and a large window that had a stunning vista of the sea.

"Oh, I like it!" Kyogre said.

"Chatot, could we switch rooms? I don't like the sea," Groudon said.

"No!" Chatot snapped. He then calmed himself. "In any case, Bidoof will show you around Treasure Town. Once that's done, you can prepare for your first mission."

The two legends exited their room and entered the first subfloor's main room. There, Bidoof was waiting for them.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm working with the Legends! This is the coolest ever, yup, yup!" Bidoof said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Bidoof! By orders of the Guildmaster, you're supposed to act like they're ordinary pokémon!" Chatot scolded.

"But golly, I can't act if they're ordinary pokémon if they're extraordinary pokémon."

"Bidoof! The tour!"

"On it!" Bidoof said. He then led the two Legends out of the guild and down the western road to Treasure Town. The townsfolk, even though they were told of the Legends' arrival, they still stopped their daily routine out of shock.

The first building they encountered was a Duskull shaped building. A single Duskull hovered at the main desk. "This is the Duskull Bank," Bidoof said. "If you store your money here it will be safe no matter what."

"What's the point?" Kyogre asked, "We're gods! No sane pokémon is going to try and steal from us,"

"Ah, but if you are defeated in a mystery dungeon, you will lose some of your money and items as the badge teleports you to safety." Bidoof then noticed Kyogre's strange expression. "Oh, don't think you can't be defeated. These mystery dungeons do real strange things. I think it's got to do with distortions in space but I'm no expert," he added.

"Remind me to slap Palkia when we get back," Kyogre muttered.

Bidoof then led them to a shop shaped like an Electivire. "That's the Electivire TM Shop. He sells TMs and if you need to know which TM is compatible before you buy, he's also there to help you," Bidoof said.

Bidoof then led the two to the western part of town. There they stopped by a tent that was crewed by two Kecleon, one of which was purple.

"This is the Kecleon Shop. The green one sells items and the purple one sells wonder orbs," Bidoof said.

"Oh, Bidoof, I see you are showing some new trainees around! Good work, I say!" the green Kecleon said.

"Golly, thanks!" Bidoof replied with a blush.

He then showed the Legends a warehouse shaped like a Kangaskhan.

"This is Kangaskhan Storage. Here, you can store all your items so they don't get lost or anything," Bidoof said. "And that concludes our tour."

Bidoof led the two Legends back to the Guild.

***

When the two Legends arrived back at the guild, Chatot was waiting for them on the main floor.

"Okay, Groudon and Kyogre, you are to head to the boards and choose an appropriate job. Get to it!" he ordered.

Groudon and Kyogre looked over the mission board. The board was, as usual, plastered with job requests. "Hmm. Here's an easy one: 'Find a lost Pidgey. Location: Basalt Crevice. Difficulty level: E. Reward: 2,000 Poké.' Nice reward and shouldn't be too hard." Groudon said. He then tore off the piece of paper. "Kyogre! I've got a job for us," he said. He then noticed that Kyogre was ignoring him.

Kyogre was looking at another job request. "I'd rather do this one. Let's see: 'Prospect for the secret slab. Location: Zero Isle Center. Difficulty level: 9 stars. Reward: 10,000 Poké and ???' Sounds like a challenge but we're gods so it'll be a breeze," she said. Before anyone could stop her she ripped off the piece of paper and carried it over to the Smeargle's desk for processing. However, some pokémon in front of her were also registering their missions.

When it was her turn, she hovered in front of the Smeargle and handed him the piece of paper. "We are taking this mission. I am Kyogre of Team KyGrou," she said.

The Smeargle took the piece of paper and read it, as he was doing so, his eyes widened in shock. "I am sorry but as a beginning team, I must deny this application." he said. He then placed the sheet in a basket labeled "denied".

"But we're gods!" Kyogre protested.

"So? We were under orders to treat you like ordinary pokémon. Now if you don't mind, you're holding up the line."

Behind Kyogre were several pokémon, some who looked rather upset at the Legend.

Kyogre grumbled hovered in front of the mission board where Groudon was located. She pushed him aside and looked for missions that the Smeargle would accept.

"What was that for?" Groudon asked testily.

"My mission choice got rejected," she replied.

Groudon sighed and stood in line with his piece of paper. In a few minutes, he stood in front of the Smeargle and he handed over the sheet of paper. "I am Groudon of Team KyGrou and I intend to take this mission," he said.

The Smeargle took the piece of paper and read it over. "Your mission is accepted." He said. He took the piece of paper and placed it in the bin by his feet and handed a small slip of paper to Groudon, who stuck it in the item bag.

Groudon returned to Kyogre, who was still looking over the mission board. "We've got our mission! Now let's go!" he said. Kyogre floated away from the mission board and next to Groudon.

"So where's Basalt Crevice?" Kyogre asked.

Groudon opened up the wonder map and looked for Basalt Crevice.

Soon he had pinpointed Basalt Crevice. "It's right here." he said. He was pointing to a cave at the base of the mountains only a few miles away from the town. He then put the map away. "Well, it's time to get ready and head out," he said.

The Legends then exited the guild and made their way to Treasure Town.

***

When they arrived at the town, it was midafternoon and the townsfolk were still going about their daily routine. And they paid no attention to Groudon or Kyogre.

"So I guess it's over to Kangaskhan Storage to see what we've got," Groudon said.

"Yeah. Why not?" Kyogre replied.

The two then headed west until they reached Kangaskhan Storage. There were no lines as the other exploration teams were already out on their missions. The clerk at the front desk was a matronly Kangaskhan.

"Hello sweetie! How may I help you?" she asked.

Groudon blushed. It was not very often someone called him "sweetie".

"We are members of Team KyGrou and we need to retrieve some items," Kyogre said.

The Kangaskhan examined a piece of paper on the desk. "Well," she said, "all you have are four apples, two bags of dried fruit and an Oran Berry."

"We'll the two apples, the dried fruit and the Oran Berry."

"Coming right up!" the Kangaskhan said. Almost immediately, the baby in her pouch got out and entered the warehouse. A few minutes later and it returned carrying a tray with the aforementioned supplies.

Groudon packed the supplies into the bag. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem honey!"

Groudon blushed again. "What about the blue silk and pecha scarf?" he asked.

"Well, I guess we should use them," Kyogre replied. "I call the blue silk."

Groudon reached into the bag and tied the pecha scarf around his neck. Surprisingly, it fit him with no problems. He then helped Kyogre tie the blue silk around her neck.

"You look good," Groudon said, looking at Kyogre.

"Shut up and get moving!" Kyogre replied.

The two then headed for the east and the entrance to the wilderness.

***

At the four way crossroad, the two Legends encountered several other pokémon.

Groudon took a deep breath. "All right, I guess this is the start of our adventure!"

The two Legends then headed down the eastern path. The path itself was long and seemed to stretch forever.


	4. Chapter 4: Basalt Crevice

Chapter 4: Basalt Crevice

Latios was sitting in bed reading a newspaper and sipping a bottle of soda. He chuckled as he read the comics section. His head turned at the sound of the door opening. It was night time but the moon shone through the blinds. A blue and white desk lamp, handcrafted by Palkia, sat on his nightstand.

"Oh, hey little sis, I didn't think you'd be back from Altomare so soon. So you see your boyfriend again?" he asked jokingly, as he saw Latias enter the room.

Latias grinned deviously. "No, but I got a little surprise for you," she said.

"What exactly-" Latios was cut off as Latias pinned him to the bed and turned him face down.

"Latias, can you get off me?" Latios said, his voice muffled by the bed.

"In a little while," Latias replied. She chuckled to herself as she tied Latios's arms to the bed posts with some rope that she had on the floor.

Latios tried to pull his arm frees but to no avail. "Latias! Why the fuck are you tying me to my bed?" Latios demanded, raising his head from the bed.

"You'll see," she replied. She gently forced Latios's head back into bed and gently stroked his neck.

"Be a good boy and stay here while I get some supplies," Latias said as she headed out the door.

"Please let this be a dream," Latios said. A blush spread through his face as he realized that he was completely helpless and at his little sister's mercy.

"Hey Latios! Can I have some help?" Zapdos called from outside the room.

"I'm a little tied up right now," Latios replied. _Damn it! Why did I have to say that?_ He thought.

Zapdos entered the room and spotted Latios, tied face down on his bed. It was too much for him; he immediately began laughing.

"Hey! How about untying me?!" Latios snapped.

"No…Just…," Zapdos was laughing too hard to finish the sentence. He then flew out of the room.

In a few more minutes, Latias returned with a spatula. "Okay, hold still," she said.

"What the fuck are you going to do with that spatula?" Latios demanded. Suddenly there was a _thwack _as Latias hit him with the spatula.

"Ow! Latias!" _Thwack! "_Stop spanking me with-" _Thwack!_ "Ow! The spatula!"

Latios turned his head and noticed that Zapdos, Lugia, Articuno, Moltres and Groudon were watching him getting spanked by his little sister.

"Get lost you perverts!" he shouted over the noise of his sister spanking him. He then looked at Groudon. "Wait, you're supposed to be at Treasure Town!"

Groudon shrugged and resumed watching.

Latios then buried his head into the soft bed and began crying.

***

All of a sudden, Latios found himself in his room. It was still night time and the moon shone brightly through the blinds. He looked around and noticed that he was not tied to his bead nor was Latias spanking him with a spatula. In fact, Latias was snuggled up with her pillow and fast asleep.

As he moved to get out of bed, he felt something wet on his sheets. "Darkrai!" he shouted.

"Latios, why are you shouting at Darkrai?" Latias asked, rubbing her eyes and floating out of her bed and next to Latios.

Almost as if by magic, Darkrai then rose from carpet of the room. His electric blue eye shone brightly in the dark room. "What is it?" he asked with mock surprise.

"Darkrai, what are you doing here?"

"Just warming up my nightmare generating powers before I use them on an assignment."

"You're a sick, twisted bastard!" Latios said.

"All because I gave you a nightmare?"

"No… I mean yes… I mean, you gave me a nightmare that could have come out of Groudon's imagination!"

"What's wrong with Groudon's imagination?" Latias asked.

"It's not appropriate for pokémon your age," Latios replied.

"Come on! I'm 600 years old!" she whined.

"Yeah, I'm 1,600 years old so whatever I say goes."

"Fine." Latias then hovered next to her bed. She turned her head and noticed a wet spot on Latios's sheets. _Must have been one scary nightmare, _she thought as she climbed into bed.

"So, it's not going to hurt you," Darkrai replied with a shrug.

"Get out of my room so I can sleep without you shoving your twisted bondage nightmares into my head," Latios demanded.

Darkrai left the room and closed the door behind him.

Suddenly the sound of Darkrai screaming could be heard.

A muffled "Cresselia! Get away from me!" was heard through the door.

Latios went to the closet and proceeded to change his sheets.

***

Rayquaza was flying high in the troposphere. The cold, thin air proved no hindrance to him as he flew. The faint glows of Hoenn's cities were spread out below him. Above him was the infinite sea of black.

He watched as a rocket from Mossdeep Space Center soared past him and into the stratosphere.

"The ozone layer really is a nice place to relax and get away from the stress of Groudon and Kyogre arguing," he said. "Probably because they can't get up here," he added with a chuckle.

He then noticed something plummet past him. He prepared a Hyper Beam to destroy the offending object but he dissipated the charge once he noticed that it was spacecraft from Mossdeep Space Center. He dove after it, his powers protecting him from the immense speeds that he reached. He peered into the windows, much to the shock of the crewmembers. He snapped a crude salute at them, which they returned.

He then turned away from the space craft and climbed back into the troposphere. "Humans never cease to surprise me," he said to himself. "When I was a hatchling, I never saw them up here. And only 200 years later, I routinely see them here. My, how times have changed."

***

Giratina sat in bed and looked around the room. There was only one bed but two dressers, one with a gold and white color scheme and the other with a black, yellow and red color scheme. Two nightstands, in the same color pattern as the dressers sat on opposite sides of the bed. The moonlight shining through the windows illuminated gold and white walls along with a black carpet.

He looked at the digital clock sitting on his nightstand. It was 1:30 AM. His black cell phone, custom made by Mewtwo, was charging on his night stand as well. Next to him was Arceus's form, covered in the white half of the blanket. His half of the blanket was pure black.

"She looks so cute like that," he said softly. He then slid under the blankets and snuggled up to Arceus.

***

Lugia was sitting in bed working on his art. He was cleaning up the pencil sketch of Shaymin in her Land Forme.

Suddenly, the door opened and Dialga stepped in. A small Dialga plushie was sitting on his back. Lugia hastily covered himself with the sketchbook.

"Erm, Dialga… I didn't think you'd be back so soon," he said with a blush.

"I WON SOMETHING AT THE VEILSTONE GAME CORNER. IT'S A PLUSHIE OF ME," Dialga replied. He then telekinetically levitated the plushie over to Lugia's dresser.

Dialga then looked at Lugia and noticed that he was fidgeting. "LUGIA, WHAT ARE YOU HIDING UNDER YOUR SKETCHBOOK?" he asked.

Lugia blushed even deeper. "I…I'm naked," he replied.

Dialga sighed. "WE'RE ALL NAKED. ARE YOU HIDING SMUT?" he asked.

Suddenly, a rush of air from the hallway blew the sketchbook off the bed and revealed what Lugia was hiding.

It was a diaper. To make matters worse, it was printed with "cute" graphics.

"ARGH! WHY ARE YOU WEARING A DIAPER!?" Dialga blurted out.

Lugia's face had turned bright red from embarrassment. He quickly slid himself under the sheets. "I…I…," - he blushed even deeper – "have a bit of bedwetting problem. And please, don't broadcast my problem," he said.

Dialga shook his head. "I NEED TO GET UXIE TO ERASE THAT MEMORY," Dialga said. He then headed out the door.

Lugia telekinetically closed the door in Dialga's face. "You are not to breathe a word about this to _anyone, _especially that weirdo Uxie! Or I will sell that 'special' photo of you and Suicune to the highest bidder," Lugia said threateningly.

Dialga gulped. That photo was one of his low points. "ALL RIGHT YOU WIN," he said.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Lugia telekinetically opened the door and Shaymin – in her Land Forme - was standing there.

"Hey, is my self portrait ready?" she demanded.

"Can't you wait?" Lugia snapped.

"I'm paying you! And I expect that portrait to be done by tomorrow afternoon."

"You are not my sole customer!"

"Well, I'm your-" Shaymin began.

"Get out of my room!" Lugia ordered, cutting Shaymin off midsentence.

Shaymin let out an indignant snort and left the room.

***

**Basalt Crevice B1**

"So this it?" Kyogre asked, looking around the cave.

The cave itself was fairly well lit by patches of luminous fungus growing on the walls. The walls were a bleak grey and the ground was cool and slick with moisture. They were standing in the middle of a large room with passageways to the left and right.

Groudon pulled the wonder map out of his pack. "The map says we're in Basalt Crevice," he said, looking at the map. He then put the map back into his bag.

"Well, let's start looking for the Pidgey," Kyogre said, heading for the left exit.

"Shouldn't we start by looking in this room?" Groudon asked.

"Good point."

Kyogre and Groudon split up and began exploring the room.

Kyogre picked up something that looked like a blue glass sphere in the left corner of the room. She gasped as it disappeared from her grasp. She shrugged and levitated over to another corner of the room.

Meanwhile, Groudon was battling with a Geodude that had taken exception to his presence. The Geodude looked like a normal one save for eyes that glowed a steady red. Groudon staggered back somewhat from the Geodude's tackle to his gut but he retaliated with a punch that sent the Geodude flying into the wall. The impact left a crater in the wall but the Geodude recovered and went after him. Groudon was ready this time and he sidestepped the attack and punched the Geodude. This punch crashed the Geodude into the wall, where it slid to the ground unconscious.

Kyogre levitated over to Groudon just as the Geodude went unconscious. "Groudon! What happened?" she asked.

"Geodude," Groudon replied.

"Okay, looks like you handled it. In any case, mind checking the bag to see if that glass orb I picked up is in there?"

Groudon opened the treasure bag and to his surprise, the blue orb was inside. He picked the orb up and he felt a curious warmth in his hands.

"_This is an all-hit orb. Activate?" _a cool masculine voice said. The voice seemed to come from within his head.

Groudon dropped the orb in shock but the orb simply fell on the ground without shattering. He picked it up again. "What is an all-hit orb?" he asked.

"_A wonder orb that contains an enchantment that will let your attacks seek the enemy's weak spot. But this enchantment can only be used once and it is not permanent," _the voice said.

Groudon placed the escape orb back into the bag. "Anything?" he asked.

"No," Kyogre replied.

The two then headed out the left passage and followed it to a dead end room. The room looked the same as the room they had left. The two then split up and began exploring the room.

Groudon was examining an abandoned treasure bag sitting in the corner of the wall. He picked it up and was about to shove it into the bag dangling from his shoulder.

Kyogre picked up some lost coins and spotted Groudon about to place the treasure bag into his bag. "Groudon! Don't-"

"Don't what?" Groudon asked, absentmindedly sticking the treasure bag he found into the old treasure bag.

Suddenly, there was a tremendous explosion as the bag ejected its contents.

"Oh, shit," Groudon said, watching the items fall down around him.

Kyogre sighed. "Get our stuff back," she ordered. She then levitated around the room, picking up the scattered items. Groudon did the same.

Soon, the two had finished gathering up the scattered items.

"Chatot wasn't kidding when he said not to put a treasure bag inside another treasure bag," Groudon said. He then opened the bag. Inside were two oran berries, two bags of dried fruit, the escape orb, the map and the coins that Kyogre picked up. He looked on the ceiling and noticed that an apple was impaled on a stalactite.

Kyogre then levitated over to the staircase in the far end of the room. "Coming?" she asked.

Groudon followed her and the two went down the stairs.

***

**Basalt Crevice B4**

The two had explored through three floors of the dungeon and were now deep inside the cavern. Throughout the exploration, they were attacked by pokémon but they posed no great challenge.

Groudon picked up a handful of Poké that was lying on the ground near a rubble pile in the corner of the room he was in. "So where's that Pidgey?" Groudon asked.

Almost immediately, a faint "Help me!" was heard throughout the cavern.

"That must be him!" Kyogre said, rushing to the source of the noise. When they arrived, they spotted a Pidgey trying to flee two red-eyed Aron who were chasing him.

"Go Water Pulse!" Kyogre shouted. A ring of water shot from her mouth and smashed into one of the Aron. The Aron staggered about drunkenly as it was struck. The other Aron left the Pidgey alone and went after the two Legendaries.

"Take this! Mud Slap!" the other Aron shouted. Almost immediately, a small wave of mud rose from the ground and struck Kyogre in the face.

"Water Pulse!" Kyogre shouted, trying to wipe the mud from her eyes. This time, the ring of water missed and struck the wall.

The other Aron had recovered and attacked Groudon with a Headbutt to the stomach. Groudon staggered back from the powerful blow and he retaliated with a punch that sent the Aron crashing into the wall. He was surprised when the Aron shook itself off and charged at him again.

"Damn it! Why won't you stay down!" he shouted. He punched the Aron again, sending it flying into the wall. The Aron shook the attack off and tried to ram him again.

"Let's try a Hammer Arm!" he said. His right arm glowed white and he smashed it down onto the Aron, literally driving it into the ground and leaving a small crater. The Aron was now completely unconscious.

Kyogre had knocked out the other Aron with a pointblank Water Pulse.

"So are you okay?" Groudon asked. He was clutching his stomach where the Aron had hit him with a Headbutt attack.

"Fine," Kyogre replied, flicking some mud from her eye.

The Pidgey peered out from behind a large stalagmite. "W…Who are you? " he asked fearfully.

"We are Groudon and Kyogre of Team KyGrou," Kyogre replied.

"I'm Aves. Are you here to rescue me?" the Pidgey asked.

"Yes."

Groudon turned his badge over and noticed that a small patch on the badge glowed a steady blue color. He placed his finger on it and he heard a cool, feminine voice speaking to him but it seemed to emanate from within his head.

"_Activate teleportation system?" _the voice asked.

"Yes," Groudon replied.

A golden light enveloped the entire group and then dissolved.

***

At the crossroads, Breaker and Querc were heading out to get a drink at Spinda's Café when a Groudon, Kyogre and Aves appeared in a flash of golden light. It was now late afternoon.

"Hey, Ky! Good job on your first mission!" Breaker said.

"Never call me Ky!" Kyogre replied.

"Sorry!"

Breaker and Querc headed down the stairs into the café.

The Legendaries and Aves entered the guild and climbed down the ladder. There, they encountered a Spearow standing in front of the message board. Other recruits were returning from errands or heading out on missions. Chatot was busy supervising the entire area.

"Altus! I'm back!" Aves chirped.

The Spearow turned towards the speaker and spotted Aves, Groudon and Kyogre. "Aves! You're alive! "

Aves ran up to Altus. "Yep, I am! Thanks to Groudon and Kyogre!" he said.

Altus looked at the two. "Well, I guess I should reward your for a job well done," he said, reaching into the messenger bag he was wearing and placing a small sack filled with coins at their feet. "I hope 2,000 Poké is enough," he said.

"We're just here to help pokémon in need," Groudon replied picking up the bag.

Altus and Aves flew up the ladder and out of sight.

"Wow! 2,000 Poké! We'll pay Arceus's fine in no time flat!" Kyogre said.

"Ah, I see you got your reward for your first successful mission," Chatot said. He then plucked the bag out of Groudon's hands and opened a door that was behind the Smeargle clerk's desk.

"Damn it, Chatot! We worked for that cash!" Groudon replied.

"Easy, you'll get it back," Chatot replied as he closed the door.

Groudon simply pouted while Kyogre muttered vague threats under her breath. A few minutes later, the door opened and Chatot returned with the cash. He handed the bag over to Groudon, who opened it.

"Erm, there's only 200 Poké in here," Groudon said.

"I should have mentioned this to you earlier but it's too late for that so here it goes. The guild takes 90% of any cash reward from a mission. Any money you find or make by selling is left alone. In addition, all items are yours to keep," Chatot replied. "And don't even think about breaking into that room to steal money. Officer Magnezone does not take too kindly to thieves and he will know if the room has been broken into," he added.

"Fuck! It looks like we're going to have to work harder to pay off that debt," Kyogre said.

"Not to mention, we'll need to spend money on supplies too," Groudon added. He then shoved the coin bag into a pouch inside the treasure bag for coins.

"I could use a drink at Spinda's Café."

The two then headed out the ladder and up to the surface.


	5. Chapter 5: Cocktail Party

Chapter 5: Cocktail Party

Groudon and Kyogre entered Spinda's Café. The café was filled with pokémon, both townsfolk and guild members. A band of Ludicolo and Bellossom dancers in the back provided entertainment.

Groudon went up the bartender, a Spinda who appeared to be intoxicated himself. "Erm, two drinks," Groudon said.

"Do you have any custom ingredients?" the Spinda asked.

"Custom ingredients?"

"Yeah, sometimes pokémon ask me to make drinks for them out of things they buy or find from the dungeons."

"We have no custom ingredients," Groudon replied.

"All right then, enjoy your Shaymin Spritzer," the bartender replied, pouring a green liquor, a clear golden liquor and a clear liquid that seemed to have a slight rainbow tint to it into a cocktail shaker. He then started mixing the cocktail while dancing around in a circle.

After a few minutes, he finished with a pirouette. "And it's done!" he announced. He then fished out two cocktail glasses, and portioned the green mixture into the glasses and garnished them with some sliced pecha berries.

Groudon took the glasses and left sixty Poké for the bartender. He sat with Kyogre on one of the tables.

"So what do you think is next on the agenda?" Groudon asked, sipping his cocktail.

"Probably dinner and a planning session for tomorrow," Kyogre replied. She sniffed her cocktail.

"Not going to drink yours?" Groudon asked, eyeing the cocktail.

Kyogre scowled. "No, you can't have mine!" she replied, sipping her cocktail.

Groudon shrugged and downed the rest of his cocktail in a single gulp. He then returned the glass and sat next to Kyogre. "Ky, what do you think we should wear for tomorrow?" he asked, fingering the pecha scarf he was wearing.

"First off, do not call me 'Ky'. Ever," Kyogre replied, taking another sip of her cocktail.

"Sorry."

Kyogre drained her cocktail. "In any case, we'll probably wear the same stuff we're wearing today," she said.

At this point, Breaker entered the café.

"All members of Wigglytuff's Guild; return for dinner!" Breaker said.

Groudon, Kyogre, Bidoof and Loudred followed Breaker out of the café.

* * *

They then entered Wigglytuff's guild and made their way to the second sublevel where the mess hall was located.

"Dinner's ready!" Chimecho called said, poking her head out from the mess hall.

The pokémon filed into the mess hall and sat down at the massive wooden table.

Groudon beheld the quantities of fresh fruit and fruit dishes that were piled on the table. His mouth watered as the sweet aroma reached his nose

"Groudon," Sunflora whispered, "you're drooling."

"Sorry," Groudon said, wiping his mouth with the pecha scarf.

"Now, first order of business," Chatot said, "is tomorrow's errands."

Everybody groaned.

Chatot flapped his wings. "Now, now, errands are important. While they are not as glamorous as expeditions, they keep the guild running," he said.

"Sunflora, Loudred! You two ask the Kecleon brothers about their stock. Corphish, Bidoof, you two clean up around the guild. Groudon, Kyogre, you two help Scriptor file away the mission requests.

"Who's Scriptor?" Kyogre asked.

"Me," a Smeargle sitting next to Dugtrio said.

"Okay, hi,"

"Well in any case, I look forward to working with you!" Scriptor replied.

Chatot flapped his wings again. "All right, now that-"

"Hey, we should congratulate Kyogre and Groudon for completing their first mission!" Wigglytuff said, cutting Chatot off.

"But Guildmaster, we never celebrated anyone's first mission," Chatot said.

"But we've never had Legendaries before!"

Suddenly, there was a deep, low rumble.

"Earthquake?" Loudred asked.

Groudon blushed. "Sorry, it's my stomach. I'm hungry,"

The entire guild burst into laughter, except Chatot, who appeared mildly irritated.

"In any case, let's eat!" Wigglytuff said.

Soon, the guild members were heaping fruit upon their plates and greedily eating.

"Hey, this stewed oran berry is good!" Groudon said, syrup dripping down his chin.

Kyogre's mouth was too full of food to talk.

Several minutes later, everyone had eaten their fill and Chimecho was clearing the table. The others headed their rooms.

"Groudon, you've got syrup on your face," Kyogre said. Both she and Groudon were in the second sublevel and on their way to their rooms.

Groudon took his pecha scarf off and wiped his face with it.

"Groudon! That is not a napkin!" Kyogre scolded.

Groudon grumbled but said nothing as they entered their room.

Kyogre took off her blue silk and stuck it the treasure bag. Groudon took off his pecha scarf and hung it on a rack against the back wall.

"Good night," Groudon said, laying on the bed of straw and falling asleep.

"You can at least help me wash your damn scarf!" Kyogre shouted.

Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door.

Kyogre opened the door to reveal a rather upset Dugtrio. "Kyogre, please do not shout. My son and I have jobs that require us to be well rested," he said.

"Fine," Kyogre replied. She then went out into the hallway, found a bucket, carried it back to her room, used a weak Water Pulse to fill it with water and began washing Groudon's pecha scarf.

* * *

Back at the Hall of Origins, day was breaking and the Legendaries were gradually awakening and going about their daily business.

A blue flash from the foyer signaled Mewtwo's arrival. He was wearing a white lab coat and looked extremely tired.

"I see you are mildly upset but at the same time you seem to be pleased," Mespirit said. She was on her way to the dining room when she passed by Mewtwo.

"Mespirit, I am really looking forward to a hot shower, not you talking," Mewtwo said.

He then headed for his room. Mespirit continued to the dining room.

* * *

Lugia was awake and sitting at his desk and working on Shaymin's self portrait. Dialga was still asleep on the floor and the door was open.

_Why does Dialga have such a big mouth? Now everyone knows about my problem. I was just glad I was able change out of my wet diaper without him waking up._ _I don't even want to know what would happen if he woke up during that process._ Lugia thought, as he erased an accidental mark on the paper.

"Baby Lugia! Where's my portrait!" Shaymin shouted from the threshold of the door.

"I'm almost done! And don't call me 'Baby Lugia'!" Lugia shouted back.

"Well, you said that yesterday! I'm not paying you if you don't get my work done!"

Lugia put his pencil down and faced Shaymin. "Shaymin, I'm only going to say this once. Smoke your damn gracidea joints!" he said.

"Mewtwo says they're bad for me," Shaymin replied.

"I don't give a shit! Your Land Forme is bad for everyone else!"

Dialga was awakened by the argument between the two Legends. He chose to look at a landscape of Fire Island hanging on the wall. He then took some sniffs of the room.

"LUGIA, WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE BABY POWDER IN THIS ROOM?" he asked.

"That's none of your business!" Lugia shot back. He then returned to finishing the portrait of Shaymin.

A few minutes later, he handed the completed portrait to Shaymin. "Here's your portrait," he said.

Shaymin telekinetically carried it back to her room and left 700 Poké on a ceramic bowl that sat on an end table near the door.

Lugia sighed. "She's so obnoxious," he said.

"SO'S UXIE," Dialga replied.

Lugia glared at him. "You didn't," he said threateningly.

"I DIDN'T TELL HIM TO ERASE THE MEMORY!" Dialga then started laughing.

"What is so funny?"

"SEEING YOU IN A DIAPER! IMAGINE THE GUARDIAN OF THE SEAS IS STILL IN DIAPERS!"

"Dialga, you're too damned loud! I bet everyone in the Hall of Origins heard you," Lugia replied.

"LET'S GO EAT BREAKFAST," Dialga said.

Lugia then got out of his chair and floated out the door with Dialga following him.

* * *

In the kitchen, Latios was busy preparing breakfast and all of the other Legends were seated around the table. The kitchen was decorated in a bland but tasteful gold and white tile design.

Suddenly, all activity stopped at hearing Dialga's voice echo through the hall.

"What?" Latios asked, accidentally flipping a pancake onto the oatmeal.

"Did Dialga just say that?" Rayquaza asked, putting his cup of coffee down.

"He did," Latias replied.

"It seems that Dialga has found this entertaining and Lugia has found it distressing," Mespirit replied, opening her eyes.

All of a sudden, peals of laughter echoed around the kitchen. Even the normally stolid Entei cracked a smile.

"All right, enough of this!" Arceus said, putting her cup of hot tea down.

The laughter stopped, except for Mew.

"Mew, this sort of behavior will not be tolerated!" Entei shouted.

Mew complied with a small whimper.

"Entei is correct. We should not laugh at Lugia even if he still does wear diapers," Zapdos said, trying to suppress a snort of laughter.

As soon as Zapdos finished speaking, Dialga and a very embarrassed Lugia entered the dining room. Shaymin followed them in her Land Forme.

"I'm hungry!" Shaymin said.

"Breakfast is being prepared," Latios replied from the kitchen.

"Work faster!"

"Shaymin! Shut up or I'll turn you into a salad!" Giratina snapped.

Shaymin quivered. "You wouldn't!" she replied.

Giratina opened his mouth to say something but

"Giratina, dear, ignore her. She'll be better once she gets her gracidea," Arceus replied.

"Palkia, can you pass the jam?" Ho-Oh asked.

Palkia, his mouth stuffed with hashbrowns passed the crock of jam to Ho-Oh.

Lugia said nothing but put butter on a slice of toast.

"LUGIA, I'M SORRY ABOUT MENTIONING YOUR-" Dialga began before Lugia cut him off with a glare.

"Can we eat breakfast without Lugia's personal life coming into play?" Suicune asked.

Latios placed a large platter of oran berry pancakes in the center of the table.

The Legendaries started helping themselves to the pancakes.

Arceus nibbled on her pancakes as she thought about today's agenda.


	6. Chapter 6: Journey to the Old Ruins

Chapter 6: Journey to the Old Ruins

Arceus sighed as she looked over the ledger of the events going on Earth. There were a lot of various problems about the world. She was standing in front of the dining room table, helpfully cleared away of all the dishes by Latios and Latias.

Around her were all the Legends – minus Giratina, Mewtwo, Palkia, Latias and of course Groudon and Kyogre.

"All right, since Giratina, Mewtwo, Palkia and Latias are busy at the moment I guess we shall start this off," Arceus said. "Suicune, there is an oil spill near the-"

Arceus was interrupted by the sound of someone vomiting.

* * *

In the bathroom near the dining room, Mewtwo, Palkia and Latias were holding Giratina over the toilet. Luckily, Giratina had decided to use his Griseous Orb before indulging in one of Shaymin's drinks. His serpentine Origin Forme was easier for the others to handle.

"You'll be okay," Latias said, rubbing Giratina's back. Giratina said nothing as he vomited into the toilet again.

"SHAYMIN NEEDS TO STOP MAKING HER DRINKS," Palkia said. He was holding up the back third of Giratina.

"Why? It's her hobby and some of her drinks are good,"

"Latias, you are not of the age to enough to partake in alcoholic beverages," Mewtwo said. He telekinetically flushed the toilet as Giratina vomited yet again.

"But they taste good!"

"YEAH AND WE'LL END UP HOLDING YOU OVER THE TOILET LIKE GIRATINA HERE!" Palkia replied.

"But that doesn't happen all the time?"

"TRUST ME, IT DOES."

Giratina had finally stopped vomiting and he lifted his head from the toilet bowl. "What did I-" He stuck his head back into the bowl and vomited some more as a fresh wave of nausea swept over him.

Latias telekinetically flushed the toilet. "You okay?" she asked, as she rubbed Giratina's back some more.

"Yeah," Giratina replied. His eyes looked somewhat unfocused and he smelled somewhat like paint thinner.

"Clean him up and him into a bed," Mewtwo ordered.

Latias grabbed a washcloth and wiped Giratina's mouth and face. Giratina stuck his head under the sink's tap and rinsed his mouth out.

The three Legendaries carried Giratina out of the bathroom.

* * *

The Legendaries in the dining room watched as an unconscious Giratina was carried down the hall. The golden rays of light shining through the windows matched nicely with the gold and white tiles.

"That sort of behavior is unacceptable," Entei said.

"Oh, don't tell me you've never gotten that drunk before," Shaymin – in her Land Forme - said. An unlit gracidea joint dangled from the corner of her mouth.

"Shaymin, have you not been smoking?" Uxie asked.

"No."

"Shaymin, please don't lie; I am the Being of Knowledge. I know you haven't been smoking your gracidea. If you don't want to smoke it, I can give it to you-"

"Uxie! Shut up!"

Uxie was stunned at Shaymin's rudeness. "Shaymin, that was not-"

"Uxie, I said it once; shut the fuck up!"

Arceus cleared her throat. "Uxie, Shaymin, you can get back to arguing with each other when the meeting is done," she said sternly. "Now then, Suicune, there is a large oil spill near Cianwood City. I need you to assist in clean up efforts. Celebi, there is a large scale poaching operation in full swing in the Safari Zone. You are to assist the park rangers and pokémon in fending off the poachers. Rayquaza and Deoxys, you're both scheduled to make an appearance at the Mossdeep Air and Space Museum. Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres you're all supposed to make an appearance at Shamouti Island. And, I think that's it for now," she said. "Now, are there any questions?"

All of the Legendaries remained silent. After a few minutes, Shaymin spoke up. "Can I come along with Celebi?" she asked.

Arceus thought a moment. Yes, Shaymin was the Guardian of Plants. Yes, she was rather, no, very obnoxious. "Shaymin, I'm going to have to say no. Until you can cooperate with the others and not annoy everyone, you will have to stay here," she said.

Shaymin said nothing but scowled.

At this point, Palkia, Mewtwo and Latias returned. Latias hovered next to her brother and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, which he returned.

Entei looked at the Lati siblings disapprovingly as the two kissed.

"LET ME GUESS GIRATINA GOT DRUNK AGAIN?" Regigagas asked.

"YOU THINK?" Palkia replied, drinking a glass of water.

"In any case, the assignments for today are: Palkia, you're scheduled to make an appearance at Spear Pillar; Mewtwo, you're scheduled to appear with Rayquaza and Deoxys at the Mossdeep Air and Space Museum," Arceus said.

"And what about me?" Latias asked.

"You're not quite old enough to go on your own yet. Maybe on your 650th birthday. For now just follow your brother. On another note, it is Shaymin's 658th birthday!"

"Yay," Mew said with a yawn.

The other Legends showed the same amount of enthusiasm. Admittedly, no one really liked Shaymin in her Land Forme.

"Hey! Show some excitement!" Shaymin yelled.

"SHAYMIN, NO ONE LIKES YOU," Dialga said.

"Same to you, you ugly lump of scrap metal!"

"AT LEAST I DON'T LOOK LIKE A CLUMP OF GRASS!" Dialga shot back.

"Dialga, Shaymin, go to your rooms, now!" Arceus ordered. "Everyone, else, head to your assignments!"

The Legends dispersed, leaving Arceus alone with her thoughts. _Why is it that some of the Legendaries are so immature? _She thought. She walked over to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of tequila.

* * *

The Lati siblings were sitting on their beds, which had not been made since they got up. Latias was cuddling with the life sized plushie of herself while Latios was smoking a gracidea joint and reading one of Groudon's magazines.

"Latios, what are you reading?" Latias asked. She nuzzled the neck of the plush Latias.

"You're too young to be reading it," Latios replied. He bit off the end of the gracidea joint, revealing that it was actually not a joint at all but candy.

"But I'm not too young to get a babysitting job, right?"

Latios put his magazine down. "Well, if you can keep watch over Altomare, I guess not," he said.

"But this is my first time and I don't know to do. I mean, Uxie and Mewtwo have been kind in lending me some of their books but I don't have hands on experience," Latias said, letting go of the plushie and gesturing to a stack of books on her dresser. A mischievous grin was on her face.

"So practice then," Latios replied. Suddenly, he noticed the grin on his sister's face. "No! Not on me! Use Dialga, Suicune, Palkia, Mew, Manaphy, anybody just not me!"

Latias's grin grew wider. "Why not, baby brother?" she asked.

Latios screamed, knowing that his Darkrai powered nightmare was about to become real.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jirachi and Mew were having a pillow fight inside Jirachi's room. Not surprisingly, his room was rather messy with toys and plushies scattered about. The golden stars that served as the room's key element in its decor lent a somewhat childish feel to the room. Rather fitting for the Legendary, who ironically was one of the oldest but one of the most childish.

"Can't catch me!" Mew taunted as he teleported behind Jirachi and whacked him with the pillow.

"Aww, no fair!" Jirachi whined. He then teleported away from another pillow strike.

The sound of their giggling carried far through the Hall of Origins.

Suddenly, a knocking on the door interrupted them. Mew telekinetically opened it, revealing a rather upset Darkrai.

"Mew! Jirachi! I'm trying to sleep! I've got to make an appearance at the Old Chateau in a few hours!" he said testily. His electric blue eye twitched with irritation.

"Sorry, Uncle Darkrai," Mew said, putting the pillow down.

"I am not your uncle. Now quiet down!"

He then left the room. "I need to get Mewtwo to soundproof my room. Those two are worse than Latias singing," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

**A week earlier in the Hall of Origins…**

Latias hovered on stage the in the Hall of Origin's performance hall. She clutched the microphone in her hands. Raikou, Ho-Oh and Heatran were managing the pyrotechnics for the show. Mewtwo and Deoxys were managing the two spotlights that Mewtwo had teleported in. Groudon, Kyogre Lugia, Suicune, Regice, Registeel, Regirock, Cresselia, Latios, Dialga, Palkia, Shaymin – in her Sky Forme with a lit gracidea joint dangling from the corner of her mouth – and Bianca and Lorenzo (invited by Latias's request) were sitting in front of the room and waiting for Latias to start singing.

Latias cleared her throat. "And for this performance, I will be singing _Danger Zone _by Kenny Loggins," she said. She was wearing a plain silver cape along with a simple but tasteful thin silver chain necklace with a small flower charm at the end of the chain. The charm was a deep sapphire blue – fitting since it was hand carved from a water stone by some of Altomare's most famed jewelers. Silver bangles carved with flowing lines intended to represent the ocean waves of the dangled from her wrists as well as from her "wingtips". All of these except the cape – Bianca had bought the cape as a gift for her - were offerings given to her and her brother by the citizens of Altomare. Bianca had bought for her.

Shaymin telekinetically levitated the joint from her mouth and blew a smoke ring into the air.

The lights in the room dimmed and the spotlights focused on Latias, making her cape gleam.

All of a sudden, the opening bars of _Danger Zone _began to play and Latias started singing.

"_Revvin' up your engine. Listen to her howlin' roar. Metal under tension_._ Beggin' you to touch and go,_" she sang, as she prepared a Thunderbolt, arcs of golden electricity danced between her wings like a Jacob's ladder display in a museum. A golden bolt of lightning flew from the wings and into the steel bars that Registeel had helpfully installed above the arena. The bars glowed and bathed the entire area in a heavenly golden light. "_Highway to the Danger Zone. Ride into the Danger Zone. Headin' into twilight._ _Spreadin' out her wings tonight. She got you jumpin' off the track. And shovin' into overdrive_,_"_

The Regis beeped loudly in appreciation while Shaymin blew another smoke ring. Bianca and Lorenzo clapped appreciatively.

"_Highway to the Danger Zone. I'll take you right into the Danger Zone. You'll never say hello to you,_" Latias cried, as she fired a Shock Wave attack into the air, where it met up with Heatran's Flash Cannon. Both attacks detonated in a bright flash and a sound like a gunshot.

The crowd started cheering loudly as the silver sparkles of the pyrotechnic display rained down. Even Bianca joined in. Lorenzo just watched the singing. He had never been to a concert of this intensity before but yet he felt a sense of satisfaction at seeing his surrogate daughter on stage and performing.

"_Until you get it on the red line overload. You'll never know what you can do. Until you get it up as high as you can goooooooo_!" Latias continued. She flung a Mist Ball into the ground where it detonated and wreathed the stage in a white mist. She hovered across the ground, mist billowing around her, as she sang.

The crowd cheered even more wildly. Their cheering nearly drowned out Latias's passionate singing. The ecstasy felt by the concert goers was almost palpable as they either cheered or fired off their own attacks, adding to the pyrotechnics.

"_Out along the edges. Always where I burn to be. The further on the edge. The hotter the intensity_!" Latias flew into the air and threw another Mist Ball just as she took off. Ho-Oh launched a Fire Blast at the shimmering sphere. The two projectiles collided in a flash of blinding light and a fairly powerful explosion. Luckily, Mewtwo's shield generators protected the spectators from the blast but Latias used her psychic powers to shield herself and ride the shockwave back onto the stage, her cape billowing out behind her and kicking up the last plumes of mist from her first Mist Ball attack.

"_Highway to the Danger Zone. Gonna take ya right into the Danger Zone. Highway to the Danger Zooonnne. Ride into the Danger Zoooooooooonnnnnnnnnne!_" Latias cried. Arcs of electricity powered by Raikou started dancing between the metal bars on the ceiling.

Latias pirouetted on stage for a moment before she continued singing. "_Highway to the Danger Zone. Gonna take ya right into the Danger Zone. Highway to the Danger Zooonnne. Ride into the Danger Zoooooooooonnnnnnnnnne!_" She fired another Mist Ball into the stage, completely obscuring her from view, and continued singing.

"You go, dragon girl!" Suicune shouted over the music.

"_Highway to the Danger Zone. Gonna take ya right into the Danger Zone. Highway to the Danger Zooonnne. Ride into the Danger Zoooooooooonnnnnnnnnne!_" All of a sudden, Latias corkscrewed out from the cloud of mist and levitated above the stage. She fired off a Dragonbreath.

The jet of fire turned into an enormous stylized dragon made of white fire. It flew over the spectators' heads before it collided with Raikou's Zap Cannon, Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire and Heatran's Flash Cannon. All four attacks collided and exploded with a tremendous explosion and showered the crowd with silver and gold sparks.

Again, Latias used her psychic powers to ride the shockwave back onto the stage as the song ended. She bowed to thunderous applause from the spectators

Bianca ran up to Latias. "Latias, you were wonderful!" she said, tears in her eyes from the sheer joy of hearing and seeing Latias sing.

Latias nuzzled Bianca and cooed. "Thank you! By the way how are things going?" she asked.

"Bianca, I think we'd best get going back to Altomare and leave your 'sister' alone with her other fans," Lorenzo called.

"Bye Latias!" Bianca said, hugging Latias's neck.

"Come back soon!" Latias replied.

Bianca and Lorenzo headed out the exit.

Meanwhile, Latias was besieged with her other fans. Most notably Groudon who kept trying to hit on her.

* * *

**Hall of Origins, present time**

The Legendaries heading out to their assignments were gathered by the foyer, where a swirling blue portal was located. The screaming of Latios echoed through out the hall but no one paid it any heed as they were used to his screaming; no thanks to the fact that he was a horror movie buff.

"All right, we ready to move out?" Celebi asked. She was wearing a set of sleek armor custom built for her by Mewtwo. Her gossamer wings were gently encased inside razor-edged metallic sheaths. Smooth, leaf-green metal plates covered her body. Her arms and legs were sheathed in the same armor as her body but it was segmented, allowing her limbs to move freely. A helmet, the same shade of green as her armor, rested on her head. The helmet's mirrored visor was retracted, revealing her sapphire eyes. Her antennae protruded from the helmet, metallic golden filaments wrapped around the thin antennae, protecting them from damage.

"Celebi, dear, do you really need to wear that armor?" Suicune asked. The idea of pokémon, let alone Legendaries wearing clothing was totally alien to her. In fact, she was one of the last Legendaries – even the normally 'this is unacceptable' Entei was quick to accept it – to grasp the fact that Lugia needs to wear diapers at night.

"Yes."

"But you're immortal; you can't die,"

Celebi pouted. "Just because I'm immortal, it doesn't mean I want to get hurt!" she replied.

"Suck it up," Moltres replied.

"Excuse me, but you're holding up the line," Zapdos said.

Celebi flipped down the visor on her helmet and flew through the portal, vanishing in flash of blue light. Suicune, Deoxys, Mewtwo, Palkia, Rayquaza and the Legendary Birds followed.

Dialga entered Lugia's room. His room was as usual, somewhat messy with art supplies almost everywhere.

Almost immediately, two sharpie markers flew from their holder and began attacking Dialga.

"LUGIA! YOUR PERMANENT MARKERS ARE ATTACKING ME!" Dialga shouted, trying to dodge the markers, which were seemingly acting of their own free will and drawing various profanities, obscene pictures and other graffiti on him. The markers' silver ink contrasted strongly against Dialga's dark blue hide.

Lugia immediately rushed into the room, snatched the markers out of the air and pinned them under his heavy sketchbook. "You can yell at Jirachi for this," he said. He then chuckled as he saw the words "_Eat me!" _written in rather large silver lettering on Dialga's side.

"LUGIA, DOES THIS STUFF COME OFF EASILY?" Dialga asked.

"Sorry, it takes vigorous scrubbing to get it off," Lugia replied.

"AND HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT? MY TELEKINESIS IS NOT CONTROLLED ENOUGH FOR THAT!"

"I…I…I could do it for you. Seeing that they were my markers, I guess it's my responsibility to clean up the mess they made," Lugia said, blushing slightly.

Dialga sighed. He was averse to being touched and he especially did not want to be touched by another male Legendary. "FINE!" he grumbled.

He then headed into the bathroom nearest Lugia's room. The bathroom was the same as always, just a bland but tasteful silver, blue and white tile design – Lugia had chosen the tiles for this bathroom. Dialga noticed a large container of baby powder next to the sink, a tub of baby wipes on the sink and large lidded garbage can under the sink as well. _Must be for Lugia's 'problems'. _He thought.

He walked into the enormous shower stall, which was more of a room. He telekinetically turned on the hot and cold taps, which were made of antique bronze in sharp contrast to the contemporary styled bathroom. He sighed as he felt the warm water cascade over his body.

A few moments later Lugia set up a barrier to keep himself dry and entered the shower with Dialga. "Dialga, I don't want to touch you any more than you want to be touched by me, so let's get this over with," he said. Lugia then grabbed the scrubbing pad he used for himself, gave it a quick wash and squirted some floral scented shower gel on it. He then got to work scrubbing Dialga's back, which had been used as a canvas for obscene pictures.

_This actually feels good. _Dialga thought, as Lugia scrubbed his back. He let out a low rumble of contentment. As much as he did not want to admit it, he was somewhat enjoying the contact with Lugia. Or was it the massage?

After several minutes of scrubbing, Lugia looked at Dialga's back. The obscene pictures were still there and his scrubbing pad was almost completely destroyed.

"Dialga, stay here. I need to get some thing a bit stronger," Lugia said, stepping out of the shower.

"DON'T TAKE TOO LONG! I DON'T WANT SOMEONE TRYING TO ADD MORE GRAFFITI," Dialga said. In actuality, he wanted Lugia to massage him more. In fact, he was starting to feel a bit of affection for him. Actually, he always admired Lugia's sleek white body and alluring sapphire eyes. He was snapped out of his dream state by Lugia arriving with some steel wool and a bottle of dishwashing soap.

He got to work scrubbing away Dialga's graffiti.

Suddenly, his scrubbing was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the bathroom door.

"What is it?" Lugia asked.

"Lugia, can I have one of your diapers?" Latias called back through the closed door.

Lugia was taken aback at Latias's request. He inwardly cursed Dialga for broadcasting his problem to pretty much everyone in the Hall of Origins. Yes, he felt sorry for Latias but at the same time part of him was happy that he was not the only Legendary in need of diapers. "Sure, the box is in my closet, just don't wreck my closet looking for it and properly dispose of the diaper," he said.

"LUGIA, IS THE GRAFFITI COMING OFF?" Dialga asked.

Lugia looked at Dialga's back. The obscene pictures were mostly gone. "Yeah, they're coming off," he said. "By the way, was I hurting you? You made this rumbling noise," he asked.

"NO. I LIKED IT."

Lugia shrugged and continued scrubbing away at Dialga. As he did so, he gently petted Dialga's side. He was surprised to find out that Dialga's steel hard skin was actually rather flexible, almost like steel plate on a bed of springs.

* * *

Latios was lying on his bed. He had been more or less drugged into compliance thanks to the candy gracidea joint he was eating before. Unbeknownst to him, Shaymin had laced it with real gracidea. Next to him was one of the baby care books that Latias had borrowed. He wondered what he did to his sister to deserve this. It couldn't have been the time he scolded her for having a crush on Ash, could it? Or was it the time he ratted her out to Arceus and Lorenzo for getting drunk and making a nuisance of herself during the Altomare water pokémon races?

A pacifier, a bottle and some other baby paraphernalia were resting on his nightstand. Ironically, they were right next to his Lati-themed cell phone and the dirty magazine he had appropriated from Groudon's stash.

Latias entered the room holding a diaper with stylized snowflakes printed on the tape and the diaper itself.

"What is it?" Latios asked, his voice somewhat slurred thanks to the gracidea.

"I have to practice diapering a baby," Latias replied.

"Where did you get the diaper?"

"Lugia was kind enough to let me have one of his."

Latios started giggling. "What?" he asked.

Latias said nothing but unfolded the diaper and place on the bed, not bothering to remove the plastic that covered the hole where Lugia's tail would have been threaded through. She gently dragged Latios over the diaper and keeping one hand on him, looked at the book.

"Okay, so first we clean the baby up with baby wipes," she said. She shuddered. "Actually, I think I'll practice this step on my plushie," she added.

She then looked at the book. "Next step is apply baby powder and rash ointment if needed," she said, grabbing the bottle of baby powder. She sprinkled it over Latios's "diaper area", although she ended up getting a lot of the powder on the bed, herself and Latios as well. Granted, she knew the baby powder was unnecessary as Latios was probably not going to use the diaper or she at least hoped so but she wanted to be authentic.

"Latias, why can't you practice this on your plushie?" Latios asked. He was blushing almost as red as Groudon.

Latias ignored him as she was reading the next step. "So then you pull the front of the diaper between the baby's legs, keep one hand on the diaper and then tape it," she muttered.

She put the book down, pulled the diaper between Latios's "legs", held onto it and tried taping it.

"No, that's not right," she muttered, undoing the tapes and getting them stuck on her claws. She tried again and again and again. After several tries she got it right. She had to admit, Latios did look rather cute in a diaper.

"Can I take this off now?" Latios whined.

Latias ignored him as she read the book. "All right, lesson five is how to properly heat and give a bottle," she muttered. She then grabbed the baby bottle and left the room.

"Latias, I really need to use the bathroom," Latios said. He tried to take the diaper off but the gracidea was making him somewhat dizzy and it made his fingers a little uncoordinated.

* * *

Groudon and Kyogre were working in Wigglytuff's Guild. They had already eaten breakfast and went through the morning cheers. Groudon was wearing his now clean pecha scarf as a neckerchief and Kyogre was wearing her blue silk as a scarf. Several other rescue team members were milling about. Groudon, Kyogre and the other trainees were gathered in front of the guildmaster's quarters

"All right, pokémon, get to work!" Chatot said.

The gathered pokémon dispersed to their assigned locations.

"Groudon! Kyogre! Come with me, please," Scriptor said, heading up the ladder.

The two Legends did so.

When they got to the first sublevel of the guild, they were surprised to see a line of explorers standing in front of Scriptor's desk.

"Okay, Kyogre, Groudon, there's a stack of papers behind you. I want you to sort them into completed, rejected and failed missions. Completed missions get rolled up and dropped down this tube," Scriptor said, pointing to a metal tube that stuck through the floor.

"Where does that go?" Groudon asked.

"That leads to the archives in the basements. Memor the Alakazam deals with all of our archival needs. But continuing on, rejected missions get pinned back onto the appropriate bulletin boards. Failed missions are placed in the folder of the appropriate team and a failure box is checked off. If all failure boxes are checked off, the mission is pinned back onto the board like the rejected missions. Got it?"

"Got it," Kyogre replied.

Scriptor then manned his desk. Almost immediately, a Scizor handed him the mission slip.

"I am Ferrum of Team Steelblade and I intend to take this mission," the Scizor said in a surprisingly high voice.

"Very well, Ferrum, you are cleared to take this mission," Scriptor said.

Groudon picked up the first piece of paper. He noticed that all the failure boxes were checked. He then handed it to Kyogre. "Kyogre, can you pin this on the board?" he asked. He then got to work

Kyogre wadded up a completed mission slip and shoved it down the tube. "Coming," she said picking up the piece of paper.

"Kyogre, I said to roll the slips. You'll clog the system if you just shove the slips in there," Scriptor said. He had just turned down a four star rank mission from an overly excited Pikachu who just happened to be a beginner. He then grabbed a long stick and shoved it down the tube until the clog was cleared.

Kyogre said nothing as she pinned the piece of paper back onto the bulletin board.

Meanwhile, Groudon had rolled up and shoved some completed mission slips down the tube. He found this job quite boring and wished there were something else to do.

Kyogre returned to her post behind Scriptor's desk and was confronted by a pile of rejected missions. She swore as she carried the stack over to the bulletin boards.

And so, the cycle of Groudon checking mission slips and sending them to the archives, Kyogre replacing missions on the bulletin boards and Scriptor dealing with the rescue team members repeated itself until dusk. By this time, the other guild trainees returned from their duties and were gathered in front of the ladders on the first sublevels.

"Finally, we're done," Groudon said. "I'm starving,"

"Quiet!" Chatot replied crossly. He was standing in front of the group of trainees. "All right now to evaluate your performance," he said.

Chatot then looked over the trainees. "Corphish, Bidoof, your performance was merely adequate. You could do better,"

"Golly! I though we did a good job," Bidoof replied.

"Hey, hey! At least we didn't get yelled at like last time," Corphish replied.

"Corpish, Bidoof be quiet!" Chatot ordered, clearing his throat. "Now Sunflora, Loudred, your performance was astonishing. You not only asked about their stock but you also managed to purchase some perfect apples for Guildmaster!"

"Ohmigosh! Eeek! I didn't know I was that good!" Sunflora said.

Chatot nodded. "Don't get too comfortable, Sunflora," he said. He then turned to Groudon and Kyogre. "As for you two, your performance was barely passable,"

"What? What do you mean?" Kyogre demanded.

"First off, you clogged the pipe system! And you both worked too slowly! However, I am willing to give you both the benefit of the doubt as that was your first time. However, I expect to see better results the next time!"

"Yes sir," Groudon replied. He was a little shocked at what he said. Did he really just call Chatot "sir"?

"Good! Now for the next article of business. The guild is preparing for an expedition to the Old Ruins in the upcoming days. Since this is a guild sponsored expedition, only direct guild members are allowed to come," Chatot said.

"Chatot, what are direct guild members?" Kyogre asked.

"Those are pokémon who are guild trainees, employees or graduates. I will tell you about the system later but all you need to know for now are you and Groudon are trainees, meaning you are direct guild members. Any other pokémon who decide to join Team KyGrou, will become associate members." Chatot then flapped his wings. "In any case, meeting is adjourned and dinner is ready," he said.

Groudon sniffed the air. The scent of something sweet and spicy wafted through the guild. He figured it was Chimecho cooking something delicious for dinner. He and the rest of the trainees headed down the ladder to the mess hall just as night began to fall and the magical torches in the guild ignited.


	7. Chapter 7: The Impending Storm

Chapter 7: The Impending Storm

Celebi had arrived at a dirt road somewhere in the Safari Zone. The sound of gunshots, vehicles and pokémon tore through the air. She looked around the forested trail to get her bearings when an armored truck suddenly sped past her. Her psychic powers detected the presence of pokémon in it, many of whom were absolutely terrified. She prepared to give chase but another armored truck – this one bearing the silver and gold winged poké ball emblem of the Safari Zone rangers – roared past her.

She headed off in the opposite direction of the trucks until she came to a large savanna. She gasped as she saw several people – both poachers and rangers – engaged in a gun/pokémon battle. Neither side was giving in despite the casualties they inflicted on each other.

Panic overtook her for a few moments before she remembered who to speak to; the elderly head warden Kaiser. She flitted through the air as bullets and attacks narrowly missed her.

_I've got to thank Mewtwo for this armor._ Celebi thought as her armor absorbed and dissipated a Focus Blast from a poacher's Rhydon. She sped up as a Shadow Ball exploded behind her.

She soon found Kaiser, the white haired head warden several hundred meters away from the battle. He was using a nearby boulder as a rifle stand. A holster with his famous "Thunderbolt" revolver was at his hip. He was busy reloading his rifle. His Dragonair was nearby and acting as his guard.

"Kaiser, I have arrived at the request of Arceus to assist in stopping this poaching operation," Celebi said.

Kaiser failed to hear her as he took aim at a poacher about 400 yards out driving a pickup truck carrying several caged Golducks in the bed. Almost immediately, the driver's head exploded and covered the truck's cab with gore. The driverless vehicle kept moving until it plowed into a tree.

The sharp report of the rifle caused Celebi to flinch. Kaiza failed to notice the armored pixie hovering next to him as he worked the bolt on his rifle, ejecting the spent casing.

"Kaiser, Celebi is present," the Dragonair said in a cool masculine voice.

Kaiser was so startled that he prematurely pulled the trigger, sending his bullet – intended for the driver of another truck – through the truck's back window. He turned to the Dragonair. "Did…Did you just speak?" he asked.

"Yes."

Kaiser was at a loss for words. The pokémon that he had had spent thirty years protecting and eventually befriending was capable of speech! He momentarily thought himself to be in a dream but the sound of a bullet striking the rock used as a rifle stand he bought him back to reality. He then turned to Celebi who was perched on the rock. "Yes…" he trailed off, unsure of what to call her.

"Celebi, please," Celebi replied.

"Ah, yes, Celebi, what can I do for you?"

"The poaching operation, how well have your rangers been dealing with it?" Celebi asked.

"Very well. Most of the poachers in the other areas surrendered without a fight but as you can see, in this area they chose to shoot it out," Kaiser replied, peering through his rifle scope.

Celebi flinched as Kaiser's rifle boomed, signaling the end for another poacher. She hated guns but she understood why the rangers carried them. After all, humans were nowhere as tough as pokémon nor did they possess the ability to use attacks – save for the few human psychics. She looked over the rock and noticed to her horror that the poacher's trucks were fleeing. Nearly all of the rangers and their pokémon were injured or dead and most of the vehicles had been damaged beyond repair. "Kaiser! The trucks are fleeing!" she said.

"I know," Kaiser said, shooting out the front right tire on the lagging truck, causing it to swerve into a ditch.

"Get moving then!"

Kaiser slung the rifle across his back and pulled out "Thunderbolt". "I'll drive," he said

Celebi rolled her eyes. Kaiser could not see the gesture underneath her mirrored visor.

"Let's go get these bastards!" Dragonite said.

Kaiser then sprinted across the battlefield, passing by a burning ranger truck near his rock. He passed by several pokémon and rangers trying their best to give one another first aid using everything from potions to recovery moves to ordinary first aid kits. He thought about staying behind to help but as he scanned over the battlefield again, it seemed that the rangers had everything under control so he decided to pursue the fleeing poachers.

When he had traversed the battlefield, he got into one of the few ranger trucks that were operable. Granted, the side view mirrors had been shot off and several bullet holes marred the bed and doors of the unarmored truck.

"Dragonair, ride in the back. I'll fly alongside the truck," Celebi said.

Dragonair slithered into the back of the truck and stuck his head over the cab. "I'm ready! Kaiser! Let's get this thing rolling!" he shouted.

Kaiser started up the truck's engine and prepared to head out when a wild Kangaskhan approached the truck. "Please help me find my baby!" she pleaded.

Kaiser's jaw dropped when he heard the Kangaskahn speak. "But how?" he asked.

"Translation field," Celebi replied. "As long as you are within a radius of a few hundred meters from me, you will be able to speak with and understand pokémon in range."

"Sorry, but this is a dangerous operation," Dragonair replied. "Kaiser! Get ready to head out!"

"No please! Let me come along!" the Kangaskhan pleaded.

Kaiser shrugged. "Sure, get in the back," he said. He was still in disbelief that all he could speak to and understand pokémon. But he shook it off as stopping the poachers was a more important goal.

"Kaiser! She'll only get in the way!" Dragonair said.

"Dragonair, she's the only uninjured pokémon nearby. We can't afford to be picky!"

The Kangaskhan climbed in the back of the truck as Kaiser disengaged the brakes and put the truck into gear.

* * *

The poacher's truck bounced violently as it sped along the dirt roads. Its armor plating was scorched and dented from various pokémon attacks and bullet impacts. A poacher leaned out the back window and fired several times at the pursuing ranger truck with a shotgun.

The pellets struck the armored vehicle but merely scored its armor plating. A ranger retaliated with some shots from an automatic rifle but the shots pinged off the truck's armor.

* * *

Inside the ranger's truck, several armed rangers were inside the rear passenger compartment. A hole had been cut in the roof and given a small metal shield with a viewport to serve as a crude gun turret.

"Why couldn't we have sprung for some kind of mounted weapons system?" the gunner asked as he ducked down from the turret, dodging some retaliatory fire.

"We can't afford that!" the driver snapped. He seemingly paid no heed to the fact that the bulletproof windshield was scarred with hits from shotgun pellets and bullets.

"Any luck?" a third ranger asked.

"Not yet," the gunner replied. He detached a poke ball from his belt and released the Pokémon. Magnemite appeared in a flash of bright white light. "Magnemite! Use Zap Cannon on the truck!" he shouted.

Magnemite's twin magnets glowed yellow as arcs of electricity danced along them, coalescing into a brilliant yellow sphere in front of it. It then fired the ball of electricity at the poacher's truck, scoring a direct hit and melting some of its armor plate but the truck still did not stop.

"Damn it! What will it take to stop this truck?" the third ranger shouted.

"Magnemite, Zap Cannon again!" the gunner ordered.

Again, the crackling electrical orb slammed into the poacher's truck, melting yet more of its armor. But the truck still kept going, despite the fact that it was slowing down.

The ranger's truck was slowly closing the distance between the two vehicles when one of the poachers tossed a Pineco out the window and onto the road. The Pineco glowed white after a few moments as it prepared to use Explosion.

"Oh shi-" was all the driver could say before the Pineco used detonated in a powerful blast that flattened the right tires on the truck and pushed the truck off the road and into a tree.

The truck crawled to a stop as the five rangers got out. They coughed as they stumbled out onto the road, which was veiled in a grey smoke from the explosion. The truck's armor was severely scorched and dented and the bulletproof windshield had been severely damaged by the blast.

"Everyone okay?" the gunner asked.

"Yeah, but the same can't be said of our truck," the fifth ranger replied.

"That's despicable," the third ranger said. "Using pokémon as bombs."

"Right now, we have to treat the Pineco," the driver said, returning to the damaged truck to grab a super potion.

The gunner's Magnemite hovered in the air.

* * *

Kaiser's truck sped through the dirt roads in pursuit of the poachers. He could not see any sign of them but Celebi said that they were ahead.

Dragonair grunted as a bump slammed him into the truck's bed. "Kaiser! Drive more carefully!" he shouted.

"I'm doing the best I can!" Kaiser shouted back.

"We're closing in on them!" Celebi shouted

Suddenly, Kaiser stopped the truck as he saw the five rangers by the side of the road. He got out of the truck and approached the five rangers.

Celebi was about to open her mouth to say something but Dragonair silenced him with an icy glare.

"Do you need any help?" Kaiser asked.

"We're fine but our vehicle's destroyed. And we need to treat a Pineco that one of the poachers used as a grenade," the gunner said.

"We'll need some extra firepower. Our truck can carry two more."

The gunner, the fourth ranger and the Magnemite hopped in the back of the truck next to the Kangaskhan.

Kaiser started the truck and sped off in pursuit of the poachers.

"You two, use your weapons alongside Kaiser!" Celebi ordered

The two rangers, stunned at the fact that they were being ordered around by a pokémon stared in disbelief.

"Do you want to stop the poachers or not?" Dragonair asked acidly.

The two rangers nearly fainted from shock as Dragonair spoke.

"You…you speak?" the gunner asked.

"Celebi has put up a translation net so we can communicate more effectively. As soon as she leaves, you will no longer be able to understand pokémon."

"Enemy vehicle detected," the Magnemite droned. Even though it could now be understood by the humans, its voice still sounded like a speech synthesizer.

"I see the truck!" Kaiser said.

True enough, at the end of the dirt path was a dead end canyon with no vegetation. At the end of the canyon was the poacher's truck.

Kaiser stopped the truck and used the truck's PA system to order the poachers to surrender.

The two rangers got out with their weapons at hand. The fourth ranger deployed her pokémon, a Growlithe. The pokémon followed.

Suddenly, there were several flashes of light as the five poachers deployed their pokémon – a Machamp, a Shiftry and a Salamence. The poachers stepped out of the truck with their weapons drawn.

"You want the stuff that our masters stole first? Fight us for it!" the Salamence roared, the green flame of a Dragonbreath appearing in his throat.

"Give me back my baby!" Kangaskhan shouted, as several bluish orbs of fire from her Outrage attack began orbiting her body.

"Rangers, take out the poachers, we'll take out their pokémon," Dragonair said.

The rangers dispersed to take cover behind the various rocks that were scattered about the canyon.

Then without warning, a Shadow Ball fired from the Shiftry struck Celebi. She staggered back but her armor saved her from being knocked unconscious. It was at that point that the two groups of pokémon started attacking each other.

Kangaskhan narrowly dodged a Dragonbreath from the Salamence. The green flames lightly scorched her back but she released her Outrage attack, sending blue spheres of fire flying around her. Two of the spheres struck the Salamence in the face, causing him to stagger back. The other spheres struck around the canyon, causing small explosions that sounded remarkably like gunfire as they struck the rocks. She charged forward and slammed her right fist into his jaw as hard as possible, knocking him back some more. He then flapped his wings and took to the skies.

She assumed he was fleeing and turned her attention to Machamp, who had finished knocking out the Magnemite. The Machamp was somewhat weakened from his efforts but he appeared to be in fighting shape.

"Ah my pretty, I do hope you'll give me a fine battle," the Machamp said in a sickly-sweet voice.

"Shut up!" Kangaskhan roared as the bluish fireballs orbited her again.

"Kangskhan! Watch out!" Celebi shouted. She fired off an Energy Ball to temporarily ward off Shiftry from hitting her with another Shadow Ball. Growlithe's Flamethrower knocked out the Shiftry.

Kangaskhan turned around only to see Salamence heading for her at top speed. She tried to dodge but he slammed into her with a Zen Headbutt, throwing her into a tree. She felt like nearly every bone in her body was broken but she told herself that she cannot give up. She groaned as she slowly pushed herself up.

"Nice trick," Salamence said.

The Machamp grinned but his grin faded when he saw an enormous spray of blood on the poacher's truck. Right before his eyes, another poacher's head exploded as Kaiser killed him with a shot to the head.

"Kill those shooters!" a poacher shouted, as some bullets whizzed overhead, pinging off the truck's armor.

"With pleasure!" Salamence said – not that the poacher could understand him. He flew into the air and prepared to strafe the rangers he could see with a Flamethrower attack when an Energy Ball and the orange fireball of a Dragon Rage slammed into him, disorienting him. Finally, the storm of blue fireballs from Kangaskhan's Outrage attack forced him to the ground.

Dragonair's neck-gem glowed as he prepared another Dragon Rage.

"Eat my Fire Blast!" Salamence shouted, his throat filling with roiling orange-red flames.

"Now!" Celebi shouted, launching an Energy Ball.

Dragonair fired his Dragon Rage while Kangaskhan used her Outrage attack. The three attacks struck Salamence, knocking him unconscious and causing a large explosion that staggered everyone in the surrounding area.

The three then turned to Machamp. Celebi's armored antennae glowed blue for a moment, then the Machamp fell down, unconscious.

"What was that?" Kangaskhan asked.

"Psychic."

Suddenly, an Electrode rolled out of the back of the truck and glared menacingly at them.

"Electrode! Use-" the poacher was unable to say more as one of the rangers shot him in the chest several times.

The Electrode simply stared and rolled back to the truck. Finding itself bored, it decided to use Explosion.

The single surviving poacher dropped her shotgun and tried to run but the Electrode detonated, killing her and severely damaging the truck.

"Kaiser, rangers, the battle's over," Celebi said. She looked around. The surrounding landscape was ravaged with scorch marks, craters, bullet holes and spent bullet casings on the ground

The rangers were the first to come out from behind the rocks. Both of them were slightly scorched and injured from the stray attacks that flew their way.

A few minutes later, Kaiser, with his rifle out appeared on scene. He was mostly uninjured thanks to the fact he was a few hundred meters from the battle and he had sniped the poachers.

Celebi fired an Energy Ball at the rear cargo compartment of the truck only to see it dissipated.

"Looks like the shield generator's still intact," Kaiser said. He took aim at a small box on the roof and shot a hole right through it. There was the sound of crackling but nothing visible occurred.

The single surviving ranger – the gunner – was busy treating Kangaskhan with a super potion. She winced as the potion stung her wounds but she was grateful that the injuries were quickly being healed.

Dragonair blasted the jammed door open with a Dragon Rage. Kaiser, Celebi and Dragonair entered the cargo compartment. The interior was dank and musty. Dragonair's neck-gem glowed, illuminating the space and revealing it to be filled with caged pokémon.

Celebi levitated several of cages at a time while Kaiser and Dragonair carried them one at a time. After several minutes had passed the cages had been placed on the ground.

By this time Kangaskhan was mostly healed and she headed over to the cages. She shook her head. "What some humans would do for money," she said sadly.

"Celebi, can you open the locks?" Dragonair asked.

Celebi nodded and a blue glow surrounded her as she attempted to telekinetically pick the locks.

After many minutes passed, Celebi sat on the ground. The expression of weariness on her face was hidden behind her mirrored visor. The effort of telekinetically picking so many locks had worn her out. The pokémon burst free from their cages.

"Mama!" a baby Kangaskhan cried as it ran up to the group.

"You're safe!" Kangaskhan said, picking up the infant and cuddling it. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She then placed the infant in her pouch. She then turned to Kaiser and the rest of the group. "I can't thank you enough. Without you, I might never have seen my baby again," she said. She then headed down the rocky trail and eventually out of sight.

"So what do we do with all of this?" the gunner asked, looking at the ravaged valley.

"Leave that to me," Celebi said. She glowed and teleported the vehicles, the unconscious pokémon, the dead poachers and the bullet casings away. She then teleported the group back to the ranger headquarters.

* * *

Dragonair looked around the sparsely decorated office that he and the rest of the group were now in. The late afternoon sun streamed in through the small windows. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Safari ranger headquarters," Kaiser replied, putting the safeties on his two guns, holstering "Thunderbolt" and resting the rifle on an empty chair.

Celebi then appeared and flopped down on a somewhat nasty looking couch, not even bothering to take off her battered armor.

"So where is everything?" the gunner asked.

"I teleported our truck to the ranger motor pool. The bullet casings, ruined poacher truck and cages are in the scrap metal warehouse. The unconscious pokémon are at the onsite pokémon center with important notes. And the dead bodies – including the ranger – are in the Fuchsia City coroner's office with notes attached. I have also notified the Fuchsia City police," Celebi replied.

"At the same time?"

Celebi nodded. "Yep. I just used my future selves to do all the work," she said.

Kaiser handed Celebi several bills. "Here, your payment," he said.

Celebi teleported the bills back to the Hall of Origins. "Thanks. I hope we meet in a less stressful situation," she said, teleporting out in a flash of blue light.

"Too bad we can't hold conversations together now," Kaiser said looking at Dragonair.

"We can but you can't understand me," Dragonair replied.

Kaiser nodded and stroked Dragonair's neck.

* * *

At the Safari Ranger motor pool, several mechanics were staring in disbelief as a ranger truck fell from the sky and crushed a smaller tour guide jeep.

* * *

Suicune arrived back at the Hall of Origins foyer from her mission at Cianwood city. She was covered in the black oil and she smelled like a gas station. But a small bag of cash levitated above her. Raikou and Entei were there to greet her. It was apparently night in the Hall of Origins but in reality Arceus just used her powers to create a simulated day and night cycle complete with weather so the hall would be less boring.

"So how was the mission?" Raikou asked. He telekinetically levitating and sipping a bottle of what looked like beer.

Suicune groaned. "I want to take a bath and go to sleep," she said.

"Okay. Want some beer?"

Suicune sniffed the air a little. "No thanks," she said, heading off to the bathroom to wash up. She took the bag of cash with her.

Entei looked at the trail of oily paw prints left by Suicune. "That is unacceptable, Raikou! Clean it up!" he ordered.

"Entei, shut up, she just got back from a dirty mission. And I am not your slave," Raikou snapped, sipping more of his beer.

Entei said nothing as he used precisely aimed bursts of fire to burn off the oily paw prints. He hated Raikou's laziness. He hated Shaymin's propensity to use foul language, He hated Palkia's sculptures. He hated Groudon's stash of dirty magazines. He hated Giratina's fondness for alcohol. And most of all, he hated the physical affection between the Lati siblings. In short, he hated something about each Legendary.

Raikou walked away, beer bottle floating in front of him. He wondered why Entei was so uptight. Maybe if he got drunk or high, he would loosen up. Raikou smiled as he decided to ask Shaymin for some gracidea.

As they left, money started falling out of the air and stacking itself on the floor. A few moments later, Celebi appeared and picked up the bills. She headed off to her room to wash up and take off her damaged armor.

* * *

Latias had fallen asleep while she was reading one of her baby care books. Her neck and back were propped against the life sized Latias plushie and the book rested at her side. Latios was not present but his plushie was sitting on his bed. And the plushie was wearing an extra diaper she had taken from Lugia.

She was dreaming about a way to blackmail her brother when she was awoken by someone knocking on the door. She telekinetically opened the door without getting up from the bed.

And found Arceus standing in the doorway. "Latias, may I have a word with you?" she said.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Latias asked.

"Actually, yes you are. Can you please come to my room? Your brother's there,"

Latias gulped. She knew what she had done was wrong but she never expected her brother to tell Arceus about it.

Arceus then led Latias to her room. Giratina – in his Origin Forme – was curled up in the middle of the bed and was sleeping off the effects of the liquor he consumed in the morning. Arceus gently pushed him over and gestured for Latias to sit on the bed, which she did.

Latios was glowering at Latias from a gold and white upholstered recliner. He was totally naked this time.

"Latios, I…I'm really sorry! I'll never do that again!" Latias blurted out, almost bursting into tears.

"Sorry? Sorry! You drugged me, diapered me and to top it off, you made me wet myself! 'Sorry' doesn't fix that!" Latios shouted.

"But Lugia seems to have no problems with it."

"That's because Lugia has lived with nocturnal incontinence ever since that psycho pokémon collector used those electric rings to capture him! He's used to being in a wet diaper! Maybe he actually_ likes _wearing them for all I know!"

"Latios, Lugia's problems are not his fault. Leave him out of this," Arceus said sternly. She then turned to Latias. "Latias, why did you do this?" she asked gently.

"I wanted to practice some of the baby care skills I was reading about and Lugia suggested I practice on my brother. I told him 'no' and he more or less forced me into doing so." Latias said between sobs.

Arceus groaned as she spotted the computer monitor set into the wall showed that Celebi had returned with 950 Poké and Suicune had returned with 4,000 Poké. Mewtwo, Rayquaza and the Legendary Birds were still out. As was Shaymin.

_Great now I have to balance the budget and possible offerings in addition to dealing with this issue. And I will probably have to yell at Shaymin for selling her gracidea joints instead of the wine she makes. _Arceus thought. She then sent a psychic message to Lugia.

* * *

For once, Dialga was not watching Lugia paint. Instead Lugia was giving Dialga a massage with some fragrance oil he bought from a local fair at Shamouti Island.

Dialga rumbled in contentment as Lugia's powerful fingers pressed into his steely skin.

All of a sudden, the peacefulness was interrupted by a loud "Eeeewww!" coming from the doorway.

Lugia bolted upright and spotted Jirachi and Mew sniggering and making faces at the two. "Get lost you two!" he shouted.

"Lugia and Dialga, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Mew sang.

"ISN'T IT PAST YOUR BEDTIME?" Dialga asked.

"Mew, Jirachi, Dialga and myself need some alone time," Lugia said gently. He telekinetically closed the door and nuzzled Dialga's neck. He marveled at how his neck did not smell like metal but it smelled like a combination of lemon and orange. Maybe it was the massage oil?

Dialga rumbled in contentment and draped his head on Lugia's shoulder. He drank in the scent of baby powder that Lugia always seemed to have around him.

"_Lugia, may I have a word with you?" _Arceus's telepathic voice said.

"LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE IN TROUBLE," Dialga said, lifting his head from Lugia's shoulder.

"Hopefully not," Lugia replied.

Lugia then got out of the room, leaving Dialga alone.

* * *

Lugia then entered Arceus's room. He glanced around the room and spotted the Lati siblings. He paid no heed to Giratina.

"Erm, why am I here?" Lugia asked.

Arceus glared at Lugia, her green eyes boring into him. "Lugia, why did coerce Latias into doing something that she did not want to do?" she asked.

"I didn't coerce her into doing anything!"

"He's lying! He told me that he would tell Entei about the time my brother and I slept together!" Latias shouted.

"Latias, please calm down," Arceus said. She then turned to Lugia. "Lugia, can you please explain your side of the story?" she asked.

Lugia flinched. "Well…I was helping Dialga clean up after a little accident involving my permanent markers and I heard Latias ask for a diaper. I told her she could have one and I told her where to find it,"

"And what did you expect her to do with it?"

"Erm, wear it?"

Latias scowled. She found the idea of Lugia thinking that the diaper was for her funny but offensive. "Lugia, you're the only diapered Legendary," she said.

Lugia blushed. Yes, Arceus knew that he was a bed wetter – she knew everything about every Legendary – but still it was embarrassing to hear about it with the other Legends in the room. "Latias, please, you just asked if you could have one of my diapers. I just assumed you needed it because you started bedwetting or something," he said.

Arceus thought a moment before she spoke. "Lugia, where is Dialga now?" she asked.

"He's sleeping."

Arceus nodded. "I'll speak to him later. Latios, Latias, stay away from each other. I'm assigning you separate rooms. Latios gets the bedroom and Latias gets the living room couch," she said.

The Lati siblings and Lugia exited the room. Arceus watched the sleeping Giratina. The computer monitor showed that Mewtwo and Rayquaza were back.

* * *

Inside an eight by eight cell inside the Sinnoh Maximum Security Penitentiary, Zero Nuell sat on his bunk. The moonlight streamed in through the narrow barred windows.

Zero's trademark Giratina-esque costume had been confiscated and replaced with an orange jumpsuit. He groaned as he realized that he would never see his famed airship, the Megarig ever again. He missed the voice of the only "person" he could ever talk to: the ship's AI, Infi.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard voices outside the cell door.

"Prisoner 151251, please back up against the door," a hard masculine voice ordered.

Zero groaned and did so. He felt the cold metal of handcuffs against his wrists. He then backed away as the door opened, revealing two guards in khaki uniforms. Both of the guards had light brown hair.

The two guards then escorted him past the interrogation room.

Zero's heart jumped. He wondered what the two guards were going to do with him. Were they going to beat or even sodomize him?

To his surprise, they led him into the prison courtyard. Questions ran through his head. Just what the hell were these two strange guards planning to do?

The situation got more bizarre when one the guards started waving his baton in the air. A small red light was visible at the tip.

Almost immediately, the sound of helicopter rotors was heard and a rope ladder descended from the darkness.

Zero stared at the ladder. He figured it was just a dream until he bit his lip. The pain he felt from the lip bite convinced him that this was real.

"Get on the ladder," one of the guards said, removing Zero's handcuffs.

"Wait, what the hell's going on?" Zero asked.

"Get on the ladder and we'll talk."

Almost immediately, sirens rang out through the prison signaling that someone spotted the helicopter.

Zero's heart leapt into his throat. He knew that he was finished if the guards caught him, so he decided to climb up the swaying ladder and into the passenger compartment. The two "guards" followed him.

As soon as the helicopter started heading out, several guards and their pokémon had arrived on the scene.

One of them took a shot at the helicopter but it only nicked the skids and the helicopter was soon out of range.

* * *

In the helicopter, Zero sat on one of the seats. The air was silent except for the throbbing of the helicopter's rotors.

It was not until several minutes later that Zero broke the silence. "Okay, seriously, I'm thankful for saving me from that shithole of a prison but seriously, who the hell are you people?" he asked.

"Welcome to Team Galactic, Zero," the first grunt said.


	8. Chapter 8: Shadow Games

Chapter 8: Shadow Games 

Groudon and Kyogre were standing in line at the Kecleon Brothers' shop in Treasure Town. The weather was cloudy and it was slightly drizzling, much to the irritation of the shoppers.

Groudon checked the treasure bag's money pouch. He groaned as he realized that he only had about 2,000 Poké. He fingered the pecha scarf he was wearing around his neck. The only thing on his mind was the expedition. He grinned as he looked forward to adventure and possibly meeting new girls. He was so focused on his daydream that he failed to notice that the line had moved up quite a bit.

Suddenly, Kyogre shoved him hard from behind. "Hey, move it!" she snapped. Kyogre was wearing a bright red cloth band cinched around the blue silk that she was wearing as a scarf.

"What was that for?" Groudon snapped as he staggered from the blow.

"That was for getting us reamed out by Chatot and causing us to miss dinner yesterday and breakfast for today!"

"How's that my fault?"

Kyogre rolled her eyes. Groudon could be rather dense even if he was kind of lovable. "You ate the fucking treasure we were supposed to bring back to Chatot!" she shouted. Her stomach still ached from missing dinner yesterday and breakfast today; the baked apples she and Groudon bought at Spinda's café were simply not filling enough.

Groudon chuckled nervously. Yes, the perfect apples they had gathered from Apple Woods were intended for Guildmaster Wigglytuff. No, he was not able to resist shoving them down his throat. He was embarrassed to admit it but he actually described the apples as "orgasmic" – in front of the entire guild. While everyone else found it uproariously funny – even the normally stolid Kyogre cracked a smile; Chatot was utterly enraged. He proceeded to deny the two dinner and then yell at them using some…choice words.

"You two, move it!" a Tauros shouted.

"Shut up!" Kyogre snapped.

Groudon shook his head and grabbed Kyogre by the blue silk she was wearing and proceeded to drag her forward, using the blue silk as a leash. "Ky, do you have to argue with everyone?" he asked.

"Let go of my blue silk! And don't call me Ky!"

Groudon facepalmed with his free hand. He knew that Kyogre was rather volatile but she seemed to be even worse recently. He suspected it was the result of missing dinner and breakfast. "I'll stop calling you 'Ky' once you stop trying to argue with everyone," he said.

Several of the shoppers stared at them. By now, most of Treasure Town's inhabitants had gotten accustomed to the presence of the two Legends and treated them like any other Pokémon, right down to insulting or cursing at the two.

When the two Legends arrived in front of the Kecleon brothers, Groudon let go of Kyogre, much to her relief.

"Welcome to our shop!" they said in near perfect unison.

"What will it be?" the green Kecleon asked.

Groudon looked over at the well stocked shelves. "I'll take a reviver seed, an apple and an oran berry, a bag of dried fruit and a pecha berry," he said.

The green Kecleon – named Cam – retrieved the items and tallied up the total cost. "That will be 950 Poké," Cam said.

Groudon said nothing as he fished out the coins and handed them over to Cam. He then placed the goods inside his treasure bag. He thought about grabbing a TM from Electivire for either himself or Kyogre. He headed over to the next shop and stood in line. The shopkeeper, a purple Kecleon was helping a Machamp choose some orbs for an upcoming mission. After a few minutes, the Machamp walked away with a shiny new orb.

"Welcome to Kecleon's Orb Emporium," the purple Kecleon said as Groudon stepped up to the counter.

"I'll take an escape orb and a petrify orb," Groudon said, fishing for the cash in his treasure bag.

The purple Kecleon – who was named Leon – retrieved the two orbs and tallied up the costs. "300 Poké," he said.

Groudon paid for the orbs and shoved them into his bag. "Hey Ky, I think the guild's ready to leave," he said. He got no response. "Ky, did you hear me?"

He then turned around and spotted Kyogre arguing with a Bellsprout who had bumped into her. He sighed, grabbed hold of her blue silk and dragged her away from the crowd.

* * *

After several minutes, they made their way to the front of the guild. There, almost every member of the guild was gathered along with the supplies.

"Are we going on the expedition?" Groudon asked.

Chatot frowned. "I shouldn't be letting you two come after what you two did with the perfect apples," he said. "But Guildmaster says I have to let you come along."

Groudon grinned. His thirst for adventure would be quenched!

"Hey, hey! Now we can get going!" Corphish said. He, like all the other trainees were carrying their treasure bags.

"And Groudon, you're going to be carrying some of our supplies along with Breaker," Chatot said.

Groudon handed his treasure bag to Kyogre and stepped over a large pile of sticks and cloth. He groaned as Querc and Loudred began tying the tents to his body. Breaker was carrying the food and some supplies as well.

"Normally, we would have hired Tauros or Donphan porters," Querc said, finishing the last knot.

Groudon said nothing even though inwardly he wanted to yell at Wigglytuff for being a cheap bastard. "Fine, let's get moving then," he grumbled.

"All right, move out!" Chatot barked.

The group – led by Wigglytuff and Chatot – headed down the path that would lead them out of Treasure Town. The mid afternoon sun shone brightly over the guild's entrance as Scriptor, Diglett, Dugtrio and Croagunk watched them depart.

Scriptor sighed as he mentally tallied up yet another expedition that he was not chosen for. He felt a twinge of resentment at seeing the two new guild trainees get picked. Granted, they were Legendaries but Arceus herself had announced to the entire guild that these two were to be treated like ordinary pokémon.

"Something the matter Scriptor?" Diglett asked.

"Nothing, just a little upset that I got passed over for an expedition, again," Scriptor replied. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, there was a legitimate reason that Scriptor was given an administrative job; he was a terrible fighter. He was even excluded in the traditional "graduation battle" and relegated to being a watcher.

* * *

Latios was in his bedroom reading one of Groudon's dirty magazines and eating some chips. He had removed the diaper from his plushie and placed it in Lugia's room, which was empty, thanks to a week long art tour that Lugia and Palkia had embarked on.

He heard a knocking on his door and he telekinetically opened it to reveal Latias floating there. "Latias, isn't it past your bedtime?" he asked, sliding the magazine under the bed.

"Latios…I…I have something to give you," she said, placing the box on the bed.

Latios telekinetically prodded the box. "What's in it?" he asked.

Latias grinned. "Open it and find out," she said.

Latios gulped. He was afraid to open it, fearing he might find a diaper, a baby bottle or some other baby paraphernalia. He looked at his sister who looked back at him with pleading eyes.

He sighed and opened the box. To his surprise, the box contained a blue aviator scarf and a set of aviator's goggles. "Um, Latias, what are these for?" he asked.

Latias looked crestfallen and her wings appeared to droop. "You don't like them?" she asked.

"No, no. I love them and I appreciate the gesture but it's just…" he trailed off.

"I thought you would look good in one of those scarves that the pilots from the old days wore. Well, and I have a red scarf and a similar set of goggles so I thought we should match,"

Latios sighed. "Look, I appreciate your fashion sense but couldn't you have just gotten the scarves? I mean, we're natural flyers who fly at high speeds. The goggles do nothing for us," he said. He then pulled his sister into an affectionate embrace.

Latias nuzzled her brother's shoulder and cooed softly. "Does that mean you forgive me?" she asked.

Latios nuzzled his sister's neck. "Yes, I forgive you but don't ever do anything like that again without asking me," he replied.

"I won't," Latias said, failing to stifle a huge yawn. "I'm going to bed now, good night."

Latias headed out of the room as Latios placed the lid on the box, telekinetically levitated it over to the dresser, telekinetically turned the lights out and pulled the blanket over himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, the helicopter that Zero and his two guards were riding in touched down in a large military-style base somewhere on the outskirts of Sinnoh. Several metal halide lights illuminated the airfield. A group of slowly blinking red lights illuminated the runways and the helipad.

As the engine died down, Zero and the two guards disembarked.

Several guards armed with shotguns and rifles prowled the airfield and hangars.

"Zero, come with us," one of the shotgun toting guards said.

Zero complied. Not that he had much choice. Before he was led away, he managed to catch a glimpse of the contents inside one of the hangars. He did a double take as he realized it was his prized airship, the Megarig.

He was then led to an office building where more armed guards waited.

They motioned for him to sit on a rather decrepit looking wood bench with even worse looking cloth cushions. A single wooden door with bearing a brass nameplate that read "Cyrus Akagi" was on the wall opposite the entrance.

Zero did so. He could not help but notice that the guards carried not only poké balls but firearms. He pondered what was going on, what had happened to him and what was going to happen to him.

Suddenly, the wooden door clicked open, revealing a man sitting in a swivel chair with his back facing towards the door. An uncomfortable looking wooden chair sat in front of the desk

"Come in," the man said.

Zero shivered; something about that man's voice that terrified him. Perhaps it was the eerie lack of inflection and emotion.

He entered the dimly lit room.

"Have a seat," the man said. The manner in which he spoke was not an offer but a demand.

Zero took a seat in the wooden chair and the man in the swivel chair faced him. The man in the swivel chair was young – in his late twenties at most – and wore black pants with a grey vest. His most striking feature was not his electric blue hair but his face, which was about as expressive as a cinderblock wall.

"Well, Zero Nuell. I have heard about you and your attempts to capture Giratina and conquer the Reverse World. And I applaud that. Our organization could use a man like you," the man said.

"Pardon me sir, but may I have your name?" Zero asked. He was trying his best to hide his fear.

"Very well, I am Cyrus Akagi. Perhaps you have met my other recruits?"

"Erm…n…no."

Cyrus groaned. "Never mind then, you'll meet them in a few hours," he said. "Dismissed."

The two guards flanking the door escorted Zero out of the room.

Cyrus looked at the pile of papers on his desk and grinned. Soon, the Legendaries would his to command.

* * *

Zero was dropped off at the barracks. He noticed that his Giratina-esque costume was hanging from a coat hook but he was too tired to care about that. He flopped down on the bed and fell asleep, not even bothering to take his shoes off. He grinned as he dreamed about lording over the Reverse World.

* * *

A few hours later, a loud siren pierced the early morning air. "Arceus-damn it, what time is it?" Zero muttered. He buried his head under the pillow.

He had no time to ponder such things as he was almost literally dragged out of bed. "Move it, you Caterpie!" a harsh voice shouted at him.

Zero rubbed his eyes and got a look at the shouter. It was a burly man dressed in a jumpsuit that bore a startling resemblance to a spacesuit. The barracks were lit with the harsh blue-white light of powerful LEDs. Zero groaned and looked out the window. It was still dark.

"Are you going to sit around like a Kakuna! Move your ass!" the man shouted, shoving Zero.

Zero groaned and grabbed his Giratina outfit. He hated the orange prison jumpsuit but he did not want to strip in front of a hulking man who could pass for a Machoke. He draped the outfit over his shoulder and followed the man out to the airfield.

When he did so, he was met by the sound of aircraft engines revving up and the sight of several grunts boarding helicopters and blimps. A tug pulled the Megarig out of the hangar. Another tug pulled an enormous disc shaped airship out of another hangar.

Zero bolted towards the Megarig. Not watching where he was going, he ran into another man. Both of them ended up on the ground.

Zero got back to his feet and continued towards his airship. "Sorry about that!" he called.

The man he had knocked down was Lawrence III, owner of the _Hikokyu II_, one of the few _Jirarudan_-class airships in existence. His original airship, the _Hikokyu, _was destroyed by Lugia in the Shamouti Islands.

Lawrence III shrugged as he dusted himself off and headed to the _Hikokyu II_, which was sitting on the airfield.

* * *

Zero entered the flight deck of the Megarig and started up the ship's reactor. Almost immediately, the avatar of the ship's AI appeared on the view screen. Infi, as the AI was affectionately called, took the form of an indigo haired young woman wearing a dress emblazoned with the infinity symbol and her hair done up with a ribbon, also in the shape of the infinity symbol.

"Infi, initiate take off sequence," Zero said as he checked the status of the ship's life support systems.

"As you wish," Infi said. Her voice was cool and electronic but at the same time enticingly feminine. A symphony of beeps played across the control panel as she routed power to the various antigravity pods placed around the airship.

Zero got up and headed to the bathroom to change into his Giratina outfit.

A few minutes later, dressed in his trademark outfit, he took his place at the pilot's seat. He looked out through the windshield when his radio crackled.

"Zero! Open a portal to the Hall of Origins!" Cyrus ordered through the radio.

Zero looked at the console and noticed that all the systems were powered up. He pressed several buttons and the ship silently rose into the air. He powered up the dimensional rift generator, waited for it to fully charge and fired the purple-blue beam into the sky above the base. Almost immediately, a swirling blue portal appeared in the sky.

"Portal opened, Zero out," Zero said into the radio. Almost immediately, _Ride of the Valkyries_ came blasting through.

He maneuvered his airship through the portal. The rest of the fleet followed.

* * *

Cyrus looked at the departing fleet from his office. His previous plan had been thwarted by vigilante pokémon trainers. But now, he realized his mistake; he did not have the proper equipment and people trained to utilize them.

He lit a cigarette, took a deep draw and blew out a smoke ring. He grinned; Operation Red Dawn was well underway.

* * *

When the fleet traveled through the portal, they spotted the Hall of Origins. It was large manor that rested on a floating continent, seemingly above an infinite sea of clouds.

Lawrence III examined the land mass via his radar screen. He was not seated at the main flight deck of the airship but at the radar/gunnery station. He tried hard to block out the strains of _Ride of the Valkyries _blasting through the radio. His ship, the _Hikokyu II_ had an AI as well, which was now piloting the ship, but unlike the AI on the Megarig, it was genderless.

The _Hikokyu II _had been designated as the command and supply ship thanks to its massive size. He did not fear attack as his airship was heavily armed and armored as well.

Its weapons included a ventral cannon that was capable of firing fireballs or ice balls, an electrical shunt system that can sap power from an Electric-type pokémon or machines, an electrical ring capture system powerful enough to trap and lift a small ship, several anti-air missile batteries scattered on the top of the airship and last but not least, the capability to carry nearly forty tons of bombs.

"Lawrence, have you spotted the Hall of Origins yet?" Cyrus demanded over the radio.

"Cyrus, this Lawrence, I have a visual on the hall," Lawrence replied.

"Drop the stun bombs."

Lawrence pressed a button on the gunner's console, releasing the entire payload of stun bombs. The stun bombs were small aerodynamic bombs that emitted a powerful stun field in a radius of about ten meters when they were detonated. The field was capable of instantly knocking out pokémon, no matter how powerful they were. The only drawback was that the stun field was capable of causing deadly arrhythmias and brain damage or even death in humans.

He opened one of the armored shutters in the gunnery station and noticed that the blimps were also bombing the Hall of Origins. He closed the armored shutters, thankful that he was not the only bomber pilot.

* * *

Mew was sleeping when he heard something explode outside his bedroom. He floated up and noticed the landscape pocked with glowing blue spheres. He scratched his head when one of the stun bombs crashed through his bedroom. His heart jumped into his throat and he felt something wet running down his legs. To his surprise, the bomb failed to detonate; this one was a dud.

More explosions rocked the bedroom as more stun bombs exploded.

Mew decided not to take his chances and he bolted out the door, not caring that he had urinated on himself out of fear. Another stun bomb crashed into the ruined rec room and detonated.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Hall of Origins, the Legendaries had been awoken by the relentless bombardment. Arceus was herding the Legends who were still conscious – Mew, Entei, Azelf, Deoxys, Latias, Latios, Jirachi, Celebi and herself – to the basement.

"I think that's everyone we can find," Arceus said, telekinetically bolting the door shut.

"Great so what do we do, fight back?" Dexoys asked, as she switched into her Attack Forme.

"We have no choice!" Entei roared.

"But we'll get captured! There's too many!" Jirachi said.

Latios grabbed his Lati-themed cell phone and hastily dialed Lugia. His heart pounded as he tried to get through to him. "Lugia, the Hall of Origins is under attack! Get-"

The phone call was cut off as a bunker buster-type stun bomb crashed into the basement and detonated, plunging all the Legendaries into unconsciousness.

* * *

Lugia and Palkia were staying at a nice hotel somewhere in Lilycove City. It was nighttime and both of them were asleep.

Suddenly, the distinct ringtone of Lugia's cell phone echoed through the still hotel room. The ringtone was an imitation of his song but played on a synthesizer.

Palkia groaned as he got up out of bed. He had shrunken himself down from his usual height of thirteen feet down to six or so feet so he could fit into buildings without wrecking them. Lugia had done the same, but Lugia chose to use a height of 5'8".

He looked at Lugia, who was sound asleep and completely oblivious to his cell phone. Palkia groaned; Lugia could sleep through anything, up to and including someone lighting a campfire in his bedroom. "Hey, Lugia, wake up!" he whispered.

Lugia mumbled something about poffins then rolled over on his back.

Palkia then got a coat hanger and prodded Lugia multiple times with it. "Wake up, damn it!" he yelled.

Lugia groaned as he felt someone poking him. He reached over and turned on the lights to reveal that Palkia was jabbing him with a coat hanger. He swore and telekinetically snatched the coat hanger and threw it onto the couch. "What is your problem!" he snapped.

"Your phone!" Palkia replied, thrusting the still ringing phone into Lugia's face.

Lugia grabbed the phone and sat up in bed, making sure to cover himself with the blanket. He winced as he heard a squish, reminding him of the fact that he was diapered and wet; it was the same situation every night. But at the same time, he was glad that he was wearing a diaper; a wet bed would be mighty hard to explain to the housekeeping staff, especially if the bed wetter was a Legendary.

"You have one message from Latios," the automated voice mailbox said.

Lugia pressed a button to access the message.

"'Lugia, the Hall of Origins is under attack! Get-'" The rest of the message was unintelligible screams. "End of message."

Lugia gulped; who or what could have done this? He then turned to Palkia. "Palkia, we're in deep, deep, deep shit," he said.

"Arceus mad at us again?" Palkia asked. He was munching on the complementary granola bar.

"Far, far, far worse. The Hall of Origins has been attacked and it sounds like there are no survivors."

Palkia inhaled his granola bar, setting off a coughing fit. "What. The. Fuck?" he said.

Lugia nodded. "It's true; we'll need to think of a plan," he said.

"There's no protocol for this, is there?"

Lugia shook his head.

Palkia sighed. "Figures," he mumbled.

"Look, I've got a plan," Lugia said.

"Good, what is it?"

"I'll tell you once I get out of bed."

Lugia groaned as he realized that exiling Palkia to the hallway or bathroom was not an option. He did not want Palkia to see him in a clean diaper, let alone a used one but he had no choice as this was an emergency. He then threw the blankets off himself and got out of bed, revealing what he was wearing: a very saggy and very wet diaper.

"The first step is to-" Lugia began. He was interrupted by the sound of his diaper falling off his body and onto the floor with a loud plop.

"I think the first step is to get a clean diaper on you," Palkia said between giggles. No matter how many times he saw Lugia in a diaper (especially the ones with the "cute" designs), it was still uproariously funny.

Lugia gave Palkia an icy glare – as icy as possible considering that his face was as red as a tamato berry. "Palkia, if you find the idea of me wearing a diaper funny, please keep it to yourself. I already get all the teasing I can handle from Shaymin, Jirachi, Mew and Suicune," he said. It was true. Shaymin routinely called him "Baby Lugia", "Diaper Lugia" or worst of all "Leaky Lugia"; Jirachi and Mew never passed up the opportunity to bring up his diapers and bedwetting at various situations just to humiliate him; Suicune constantly berated him for wearing diapers. And of course, he just wished he could stop wetting the bed but there was nothing that any of the other Legendaries could do to fix that problem, so it was diapers for him.

"Sorry," Palkia said. He stifled a giggle. He knew it was wrong to laugh at Lugia for a medical problem but he just could not resist laughing at the idea of a diapered Legendary.

Lugia picked up the diaper, threw it in the trash can and headed off to the bathroom to clean up. He was still slightly upset at Palkia for laughing at him before.

Palkia shoved his cell phone and its charger into his suitcase, along with the complementary granola bars and poffins. He then zipped up his suitcase and placed it by the room's exit.

Lugia then exited the bathroom. "All right, got everything ready to go?" he asked. He was carrying his tub of baby wipes and a container of baby powder.

Palkia nodded.

"The first step is to meet with our nearest trusted human contact – James Elison, the curator of the Lilycove Art Museum," Lugia said.

"Sounds like a plan," Palkia said, leaning against the wall.

Lugia then dialed James's cell phone. "Hey James, Palkia and I have to discuss something with you. We'll be outside the museum," he said. He then closed the cell phone and stuck it into the suitcase along with the wipes and powder. He looked out the window. It was still dark but the faint golden rays of light in the distance showed that dawn was approaching.

The two Legends then closed the room door and headed to the front desk.

* * *

When the two Legends got to the front desk, they immediately returned their keys.

"Leaving so early, Palkia and Lugia? I thought you were going to stay in Lilycove for two days?" the clerk asked.

"We have run into a bit of an-" Palkia said. He was cut off by Lugia who jabbed an elbow into his side.

"He means to say that we have a scheduling conflict," Lugia said, cutting Palkia off.

"Well you two have a nice trip!" the clerk said.

The two Legends headed out through the hotel's sliding doors.

Luckily, the hotel was very close to the art museum. The concrete canyons of Lilycove were still dark as the sun was still low on the horizon. The orange glow of the streetlights did nothing to dispel the darkness of the city. Palkia sat down on a concrete planter while Lugia leaned against a concrete bollard designed to prevent vehicles from driving into the museum. Lugia looked around. There was no one around, except maybe some people he assumed were homeless. A few street cleaning vehicles rumbled by.

Palkia sighed. A new and epic adventure was thrust upon them. The fate of the other Legendaries, perhaps the entire world was in their hands.


	9. Chapter 9: Museum of Adventure

Chapter 9: Museum of Adventure

Entei groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. His entire body ached from the stun bombs. He looked around. To his surprise he was in his room and it was almost completely undamaged.

"But how?" he asked himself. "I remember the bombs."

His stomach growled, reminding him that he had not eaten in several hours. "Well, I'll see what's in the kitchen," he muttered.

He telekinetically opened the door and entered the hallway. The hallways were spotless as well.

Entei shivered. Obviously, he preferred that the Hall of Origins remain spotless but something unnatural was in the air.

He then headed towards the kitchen where he heard noises. He was absolutely not prepared for what he found.

Latias was on her back on the kitchen table and Latios was vigorously thrusting himself into her.

"Ah. Ah. Ah!" Latias cried as she climaxed.

Latios pulled himself out of his sister and snuggled up to her. "That was…"

"Fun," Latias panted out. She then glanced at Entei. "Hey, you enjoy the show?" she said with a wink.

Entei fought to keep the bile in his throat down. He screamed at the horrific sight and bolted from the kitchen. He desperately wanted something to erase that horrifying visual. He ran into the lounge, which was tastefully decorated with "Azelf blue" paint and some of Lugia's landscape art. The lounge was, thankfully empty. Entei then stuck his head into the fireplace, trying to remove that image from his head.

He took several deep breaths as the warm flames licked over his fur and skin. "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! I just did not see Latios have sex with his sister!" he shouted.

He then pulled his head out of the fireplace and headed to Uxie's room. He flung the door open. "Uxie! I-" Entei's words died on his lips at what he saw.

Uxie, Azelf and Mespirt were playing a game of Twister – a version that involved copious amounts of lube.

"What…What's going on!" Entei demanded. He was trying hard to ignore the grunting and groaning that came from the contortionist three-way that the Lake Trio were engaged in.

"We're playing a game of Twister," Mesperit said. Her two tails were wrapped around Uxie's body while Azelf's two tails were probing her nether regions. At the same time, Uxie's two tails were rubbing Azelf's groin.

Entei lost it. He vomited on the immaculate "Uxie gold" carpet and bolted from the room, slamming the door behind him. His heart raced, something had turned nearly every Legendary into nymphomaniacs. And it terrified him.

"I must be dreaming," he muttered. He bit himself on the right foreleg. It hurt. A lot.

"No…No!" Entei shouted. He thought of one last refuge: the Legendary Golems.

He bolted down the hall when he heard a series of frantic beeping coming from Regigigas's room. He opened the door and to his horror found Regigigas, Registeel, Regice and Regirock doing some of the most perverted acts he had ever seen involving rock, ice and steel.

"Regigigas! This…This is unacceptable!" Entei shouted. He was desperately trying to sound authoritative, even though he was terrified beyond all possible belief.

Regigigas turned towards Entei holding what appeared to be a steel girder. Apparently, Entei had intruded in the midst of him spanking Registeel. "COME NOW, WHY MUST YOU SPOIL THE FUN?" he asked.

Entei's face paled and he slammed the door shut, his heart pounding in his throat. He suppressed the urge to vomit yet again. "Now what?" he muttered. He then noticed a dark blue name plate on a nearby door with the name "Dialga" engraved on it. "Wait, I thought his room was near the rec room?" he muttered. "Okay, now to see what is going on."

He gently opened the door. To his great relief Dialga appeared to be lying on his bed with his back turned to the door. Then again the room was very dark.

"Dialga, can you help me explain what is going on? Everyone's libidos have been stuck on high," Entei said.

"Oh, yeah Lugia, that's it. Please don't stop," Dialga moaned. His body shuddered with pleasure as he spoke each syllable.

Entei was starting to become extremely nervous now. "Dialga, what are you doing?" he asked. He had a feeling that he was really going to regret knowing.

Dialga gave forth an earsplitting howl as he climaxed.

"Dialga! I don't care if you masturbate! But don't do it in front of me!" Entei shouted. He used the volume of his voice to mask his fear and revulsion.

"WHO SAID I WAS MASTURBATING?" Dialga countered.

Lugia then levitated over Dialga's prone form. Both his mouth and face were caked with Dialga's seed. He then swallowed whatever it was in his mouth. Even though the light was dim, it was clear that Lugia was wearing a diaper.

"SHALL WE?" Dialga asked.

"Why not, dear?" Lugia replied. He pressed his body against Dialga. Dialga rumbled in contentment as Lugia rubbed himself against his steely body. He paid no heed to the fact that Lugia was diapered. In fact, he preferred that his mate be diapered.

Entei vomited what little was left in his stomach on the clean "Lugia silver" carpet. He then bolted out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut and ignoring the dirty talk that came out of the doors.

At this point, Entei was in tears. Every Legendary he met was upset at him for interrupting their interludes or worse, they wanted him to join. He then thought about the single pokémon who would be able to help rectify this issue: Arceus.

He tore through the halls, not caring that he left scorch marks on the "Dialga blue" carpets. He finally stopped in front of Giratina and Arceus's shared room and he opened the door. His hopes at them fixing the problem were dashed.

On the floor was Arceus, writhing in pleasure. Behind her, with his head in her nether regions was Origin Forme Giratina. Around and on top of the two were a veritable gaggle of females. Deoxys, Shaymin, Ho-Oh, Suicune, Articuno, Celebi, Cresselia, a Garchomp, two Chansey, two Miltank, two Nidoqueen, Cynthia, her Garchomp, two Nurse Joys, two Officer Jennys, four Gardevoir and finally half a dozen prostitutes he purchased from Pyrite Town in Orre.

Black tentacles expanded from his wings and were busy probing and feeling each and every female's body. Giratina shuddered in pleasure as his tentacles registered feedback from each of the females.

Entei stared in horror at the massive orgy going on. He wanted to move but his frozen limbs refused to let him move. It was like his brain was forcing him to watch. He wanted to order everyone to stop this obscene display but his mouth refused to let him obey. He closed his eyes to block out the horrifying sight but he could not block out the moans of pleasure from all the females. He felt something warm wrap around his legs. He forced his eyes open and found that Giratina's tentacles had wrapped around legs and was dragging him closer to the massive orgy. He tried to break free but he could not. He glanced at Giratina and noticed that his eyes were filled with lust. "Giratina! Stop this madness!" he shouted. He burned away a tentacle with a Flamethrower but another sprouted from Giratina's wings and started stroking his stomach. Entei shivered at Giratina's gross violation of his personal space.

"You'll like this," Giratina said with a wink. Six more tentacles grew from his wings and tied down all four legs and his head.

"Giratina, please stop! I'm begging you!" Entei cried. He did not bother to hold back the tears that poured forth from his eyes.

Giratina put the sixth tentacle on Entei's lips. "Shh. Be quiet and this will all be done soon," he said. Another tentacle stroked Entei's head. He started whimpering like an injured Growlithe.

The sixth tentacle then reared up behind Entei and penetrated him. Mercifully, he saw what was going on and passed out from sheer fright before the actual penetration.  


* * *

The real Entei was hovering unconscious inside an electrical cage formed by the _Hikokyu II_'s electrical capture system. The two generating rings orbited each other in a manner reminiscent of a gyroscope as arcs of blue electricity danced between them.

He, along with the other Legendaries were placed inside the _Hikokyu II_'s main holding bay. The main holding bay was normally used to carry things like treasures or passengers but it had been pressed into service as a torture chamber thanks to a console that Lawrence III had installed.

Charon was busy torturing each and every Legendary with what he found in their heads. One hand was on the console and the other hand was down by his waist. And his pants were around his ankles. Luckily, he was alone.

Suddenly, the screen displaying Entei's video blanked out and was replaced by an image of Cyrus smoking a cigarette. Charon quickly pulled up his pants but he did not have time to fully belt them.

"Charon! Have you fully broken the Legendaries?" Cyrus demanded.

"Not quite. They are proving harder to break than we thought," Charon replied.

"Very well. And what the fuck aren't you saluting!"

Charon saluted, causing his pants to fall down and reveal exactly what he was doing while he was torturing Entei.

"Charon! I do not want to see or hear about you jerking off while on duty!" Cyrus thundered. He then drew a pistol and aimed it straight at the camera. "Or I will blow your balls off!" Cyrus's voice then went back to normal. "Carry on. Cyrus out." The transmission ended, revealing Entei's video was paused where he was last watching it.

Charon shuddered. He knew Cyrus would act on his threat so he quickly nodded and put his pants back on. He then downloaded the tape onto his smartphone so he could "enjoy" it at a later time.

While he was doing so, he was busy reading Latias's mind. He grinned. Who knew such a sweet and cute pokémon had such a filthy mind?  


* * *

  
It was still dark in Lilycove City as Palkia and Lugia loitered outside the art museum. They were still waiting for James to appear.

Palkia was reading a gossip magazine that he had purchased last night. He was sniggering as he browsed through all the steamy stories.

"Palkia, what are you reading?" Lugia asked. He was listening to a portable music player that he retrieved from his bag and reading a newspaper that he bought from a vending machine. The headline read: _Hoenn Government Outraged Over Orre's Execution Of Poképhile_. Lugia shuddered; one of the most common execution methods used in Orre was tying the condemned to a pole out in the execution yard of the prison, strapping C4 to them and detonating the explosives after an unspecified time period. And then there was the punishment for poképhilia: being bound and thrown in a pit with three fragmentation grenades.

"_Champion_. It's Sinnoh's premier celeb mag," Palkia replied.

Lugia's jaw dropped as he suddenly realized something. Palkia was not as loud as he once was. "Uh Palkia, did your caps lock key get broken or something?" he asked.

"What?"

"You don't seem to be as loud as you were before."

Palkia put the magazine on the planter and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he grew seven feet in as many seconds. "YOU MEAN LIKE THIS LOUD?" he asked.

Lugia nodded. "Yeah, that loud," he said.

Palkia then shrunk back down to six feet and picked up the gossip magazine. "Hey, you know what the latest gossip about Champion Cynthia is?" he asked.

Lugia yawned. "I'm trying to enjoy _Arcana_ here!" he replied. "But fine, tell me since I have nothing else to do."

"Well, rumor that she's sexually interested in her Garchomp."

Lugia's jaw dropped. He had seen of all kinds of unusual sexual behavior, ranging from bondage to inflationism, in Groudon's dirty magazines but this was something totally new to him. "And I thought Groudon was a pervert," he muttered.

"I knew it!" Palkia replied, turning the page to reveal a grainy black and white picture that showed Cynthia – totally naked – snuggling up to her Garchomp.

"Knew what?"

"That Cynthia was a poképhile."

"Okay, now can you let me enjoy the rock remix of _Racketeers_?"

Palkia sighed. "Just so you know, I think Immediate Music and Two Steps From Hell suck," he replied.

"Hey!"

At this point, James Elison, a somewhat thin man of about thirty-five opened the door to the museum. "Ah, Lugia, Pallie, come in!" he said.

Palkia blushed at the affectionate nickname given to him by James and put away the gossip magazine. Lugia followed him into the museum.

The museum was dark but the dim red emergency lights glowed through out the building. The air had the distinct odor of new carpet.

The group then wound their way to the employee break room. There, an electric kettle and three beat up porcelain cups rested on an equally beat up wood table.

Lugia sniffed the air. The scent of stale coffee permeated the air.

James then poured some tea into each of the cups. "Tea?" he asked.

"Sure," Palkia said, picking up a cup and sipping it. "This is good tea."

Lugia picked up the next cup and sipped it. He screwed his face up and spat the tea into the nearby stainless steel sink. "Sorry, it's too strong," he said.

James then placed the cup of tea on the table. "So what was it that you wanted to discuss?" he asked.

"The Hall of Origins has been attacked. We think that the other Legendaries are in danger," Palkia said.

"So what does this have to do with me?"

"You're the only human we trust enough to help us. We can't do this alone and it's very possible that whoever or whatever attacked the Hall of Origins could pose a threat to your world as well."

James sighed. He had always entertained fantasies of being a hero but as a responsible adult he knew that he was not trained in heroics. Then again, he was sure that the two Legends would ensure that he would be safe. "All right, I'll join you," he said.

"James, do you know any skills that maybe helpful? Sharpshooting, hand-to-hand combat, sabotage?" Lugia asked.

James chuckled. "I'm an art museum curator, not a soldier! Granted, I am a fairly talented pokémon trainer," he said.

"Good! Now do you mind introducing us to your partners?"

"They're at home."

"Okay, we'll meet you outside. Pack up whatever shit you need here and get moving," Palkia said.

James nodded and saluted the two as they left. He looked around the lounge. He decided that nothing here was worth taking He then stopped by his office and hastily scrawled a note saying that he had to leave for an extended period of time due to a "family emergency". He then headed outside where Lugia and Palkia were waiting.

The group then headed down the streets to James's apartment. The streets were still mostly empty but they were brightening as the sun rose.

The two stopped in front of a posh looking apartment complex. The only person there was a smartly dressed doorman.

Lugia had to admire the art that decorated the apartment lobby. He recognized one of the paintings as a copy of his _Stormy Elemental Islands_ – the original was inside the art museum.

Palkia meanwhile was staring at the marble walls.

A ding signaled that the elevator had arrived. James, Lugia, Palkia and their luggage took up nearly the entire elevator; luckily there was no one there. They rode the elevator to the 27th floor and entered James's apartment.

The apartment was very modern looking and clean.

Lugia sat on the nice couch. "Hey, James this a really nice place," he said.

James paid no attention to Lugia as he started packing the supplies that they needed.

Palkia sat on a recliner and turned the TV on. He turned around and saw that Lugia had fallen asleep on the couch. He opened Lugia's suitcase and removed a diaper from it. He then shook Lugia awake.

"Palkia, what is your problem?" he snapped.

Palkia said nothing but handed the diaper to Lugia. He did not want Lugia to have an accident on James's couch. That would be…embarrassing to say the least.

Lugia scowled and put it back in his bag. He then decided to watch the Lilycove morning news with Palkia.

Several minutes passed and James had his supplies ready. He had a messenger bag with his supplies in it across one shoulder and two additional bags at his feet Three poké balls were clipped to his belt.

"Okay, I've got all the supplies ready. You'll both have to carry some as well," James said.

"No problem, I'll just use my spatial powers to expand the capacity of the bags and make them weightless too," Palkia replied.

"No need. There are the high tech 'digital bags'. They're basically the same technology used in poké balls applied to items."

Palkia glowed pink for a moment. The two suitcases and two messenger bags glowed pink as well. "There, I teleported our belongings to the messenger bags," he said. He then tossed his messenger bag over his shoulder and clipped the luxury ball to it. Lugia followed his lead.

"So exactly what supplies did you bring?" Palkia asked.

"Oh some food, camping supplies, medical supplies, the usual," James replied. "You've got some supplies in your bag as well."

Palkia reached into his bag and pulled out a small but very sturdily built folding shovel. "James, is that an E-tool?" he asked.

James nodded. "Yep. And I'd say it makes a fine battleaxe as well," he said.

Palkia reached by his waist and "unsheathed" a glowing pink energy sword – a manifestation of his signature attack, Spacial Rend. "Yeah, I'll stick with my Spacial Rend," he replied. He then shrugged at James's other piece of knowledge about the E-tool; after all, Palkia himself has used an E-tool as a weapon in a pokémon battle. Needless to say, the trainers were not very happy about his proclivity to use weapons in a pokémon battle.

"Can your 'sword' dig as well?"

"No," Palkia replied, "sheathing" his sword.

Lugia sighed. "All right, James let's see your partners," he said. He was starting to get tired and he wished he had some energy root or coffee.

"Come on out!" James said, releasing all three pokémon he had around his waist. The intense bursts of white light easily drowned out the early morning sun.

The amorphous mass of white light began to separate into three distinct shapes: a Mudkip, an Infernape and a Skarmory.

"These are my pokémon. Wu-" Suddenly, James was cut off as his Infernape spoke.

"Wukong," the Infernape said. His voice was cool but deep and rich, akin to the voice of an opera singer.

James's jaw dropped in astonishment. He had never, ever seen a pokémon speak clear English before. He pinched himself. It hurt; he was not dreaming. "But…but…how?" he asked.

"I guess we should have told you earlier. But now's a good time as any," Palkia said.

"You see, as long as you are within several hundred feet of either Palkia or me, you will be able to understand and converse with any Pokémon – wild or trained. No other humans will be able to eavesdrop on your conversation unless we extend the translation field to them," Lugia said.

James's eyes lit it up; it was like a dream come true. "Well, I guess I should like my pokémon introduce themselves then," he said, flopping down on another recliner.

"I'm Quartzon!" the Mudkip chirped. Her voice was rather high pitched but not grating.

"And I'm Ferrum," the Skarmory said. His voice was sharp and hard like the edge of honed steel.

"Well, I am pleased to meet you all, Wukong, Quartzon, Ferrum," Lugia said.

Palkia looked at the clock. "We really should get going," he said.

James nodded and recalled Wukong, Quartzon and Ferrum. "Where to?" he asked.

"Altomare."

"Well, let's get going then."

The trio then left James's apartment and headed to the elevator. As the elevator descended to the lobby, they thought about the stakes.

But those thoughts were cut short when they had to force their way past a throng of people heading to work.


	10. Chapter 10: The Journey Begins

Chapter 10: The Journey Begins

Groudon leaned against a rocky outcropping. The other guild members were setting up camp at a clearing just outside the Old Ruins. The moon shone brightly over the campsite. Querc, Breaker, Corphish and Sunflora were setting up tents while Chimecho, Kyogre and Loudred were gathering food. Bidoof had been assigned to gather firewood. Luckily, a clear stream ran through the camp so water was easy to come by.

Chatot and Wigglytuff were busy setting up the "command tent".

"Hey Groudon, mind helping us set up the tents?" Corphish asked. He was holding down a tent peg while Querc was using a rock to hammer it into the ground.

Groudon groaned; he was not interested in menial labor, he wanted to go explore. Not to mention he was in a bad mood from being forced to carry nearly all their supplies and he was quite tired. "Eat me," he said with a yawn.

"Hey, hey! That's no way to behave! Have some fun!" Corphish replied.

"Groudon! Everyone has to work and you are no exception!" Chatot scolded. "Get to work before I deny you dinner!"

Groudon groaned and got to his feet. He lumbered over to where Breaker was pounding a tent peg into the ground with a rock.

"Hey Groudon, can you hammer in the pegs at the other side of the tent?" Breaker asked.

Groudon said nothing but picked up the other tent spike and twisted it into the ground. He repeated the process with the other pegs.

By the time Groudon was finished setting up all the tents, Chimecho, Loudred and Kyogre had returned with baskets full of fruit and some clay pots filled with Combee honey.

"Excellent work!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. He grabbed a perfect apple from the basket and ate before their eyes.

"Erm, thanks Guildmaster," Kyogre said.

Groudon's stomach rumbled. "Hey how about dinner?" he asked. "I'm starving!"

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Querc said.

"I could use a hot meal too," Breaker added.

"No problem!" Chimecho chirped. She looked around and noticed that Bidoof was nowhere to be seen. "Or it would be no problem if Bidoof had the firewood."

Everyone groaned. Bidoof usually found some way to screw things up and someone else would have to bail him out.

"Groudon! Kyogre! Sunflora! Go look for Bidoof!" Chatot ordered.

"Oh my gosh! I hope Bidoof is safe!" Sunflora exclaimed. She rooted in her treasure bag for a zinc scarf.

Groudon readjusted the somewhat dirty pecha scarf around his neck. Kyogre readjusted the blue silk and power band around her neck. Both were still damp since he had just washed them in the stream a few minutes ago.  


* * *

  
Meanwhile, Bidoof was dangling upside down over a large pile of wood. Metallic drumbeats and chanting filled the air as his Mawile captors danced around the soon-to-be pyre. More Mawile were dancing around a large cauldron of what appeared to be molten metal. All of this was going on in front of a steel effigy that depicted Registeel crushing an Onix underfoot.

"Golly, I'm sorry for intruding but could you please let me go?" he pleaded.

The chief, a large Mawile with several intricate patterns and swirls etched on his steel skin and a headdress made of what appeared to be Skarmory feathers, glared at him. "No. You violate Mawile territory, you pay price!" he snapped in somewhat broken Common Poké.

"Golly, but I didn't mean to!"

"Silence!"

Bidoof gulped. There were no other guild members around. All he could do was resign himself to his fate.  


* * *

  
In a forested trail a few miles away from the Mawile village, Groudon, Sunflora and Kyogre were looking for Bidoof. Luckily, Sunflora had a spare luminous orb to serve as a flashlight.

She gasped as she shone the luminous orb on something. "Oh my gosh! I hope he's okay," she said.

"What is it?" Kyogre asked.

Sunflora pointed to a treasure bag with her free hand.

Kyogre picked it up and looked at it. "It's Bidoof's treasure bag," she said.

"But no explorer ever leaves their treasure bag behind," Sunflora replied.

"You guys found anything? I want to go back and eat dinner!" Groudon said.

"Groudon! We're looking for a fellow guild member!" Kyogre snapped. In truth, she was starting to like Bidoof; he was like a less perverted Groudon, dense and lovable.

Groudon said nothing but headed over to the treasure bag. "See if there's anything inside," he said. _Maybe if he's dead we can divvy up his stuff among us._ He thought.

Sunflora carefully emptied out the bag onto the leaf litter and shone her luminous orb over the contents. An apple, some dried fruit in a paper bag, an escape orb and an oran berry were the only things present. "Oh my gosh! Everything metallic is gone!" she exclaimed.

"Are you sure? I mean we don't carry much metallic things," Kyogre said, telekinetically nudging the escape orb.

Sunflora shook her head. "Bidoof carries a few hundred Poké and a bundle of thirty iron thorns as an emergency weapon," she replied.

"We'd better look for him then," Kyogre said. She then replaced all the contents of the bag and tossed the bag to Groudon, who obediently put it over his shoulder in addition to his and Kyogre's own bag that he was carrying.

Suddenly, the faint sound of chanting and metallic drums reached their ears. "Uh oh," Kyogre said. "Do you think they ate Bidoof?" She recalled seeing some movies that depicted savage natives cooking and eating explorers.

"Oh my gosh! We have to save him from becoming dinner!" Sunflora shouted.

She then dashed down the trail, Kyogre and Groudon followed her.

* * *

The ceremony was now in full swing. The pyre underneath Bidoof had been lit and the Mawile prostrated themselves in front of the steel statue which was now adorned with flowers and Skarmory feathers. Some other Mawile were engaged in a sword dance with ceremonial swords forged from Skarmory feathers.

"To the Titan of Iron, we offer you this sacrifice!" the chief cried in Mawilese, bowing down in front of the statue.

"Hey look, I respect your religion but could you please let me go?" Bidoof pleaded. The flames were starting to lick his fur and he was starting to sweat.

His pleadings went unheard in the massive frenzy.

Suddenly, Sunflora burst into the ceremony. Several of the Mawile glared at her for interrupting the ceremony and five Mawile warriors leveled steel tipped spears at her.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry for interrupting but-"

"Silence!" the chief snarled, switching from Mawilese to Common Poké. "You interrupt Mawile ceremony! You pay price!" He then turned to the Mawile warriors. "Kill her!" he ordered in Mawilese.

The warriors prepared to spear Sunflora when Groudon and Kyogre entered the village.

Unlike before, the Mawile warriors placed their spears down and prostrated themselves at Groudon's feet.

"Lady Kyogre! Lord Groudon! I…I did not expect your presence. Please, make yourselves comfortable!" the chief said in Mawilese.

Sunflora stared at the scene in astonishment. She, of course, did not understand what the chief had said. But Groudon and Kyogre understood the chief thanks to their inherent psychic translation ability. Granted to their ears it sounded like accented Common Poké.

Groudon scratched his head in bewilderment. Luckily, Kyogre was there to cover for him. "Return the Bidoof and the Sunflora to us!" she demanded. Her psychic translator worked both ways; not only could she understand any foreign language, she could speak it fluently.

"At once Lady Kyogre!" the chief replied.

Two warriors removed the nearly roasted Bidoof from the pyre, untied him and handed him over to Groudon. The other warriors surrendered Sunflora and a clay pot containing what appeared to be dried meat to Kyogre.

The Mawile all bowed before Kyogre, Groudon, Bidoof and Sunflora left.  


* * *

  
The group was now on the same trail that they had followed to the Mawile village. They had stopped for a moment to gather some firewood but they were now making good progress back to camp.

"Golly, what was that all about?" Bidoof asked, coughing out some smoke. His fur had been charred black but he was otherwise unhurt. His treasure bag had been filled with firewood but his money and iron thorns were gone.

"The Mawile in this area are very territorial, anyone who enters their territory is immediately killed, if they are lucky," Kyogre replied.

Bidoof gulped. He did not need Kyogre to explain what happened to the unlucky ones. He experienced it.

"So Groudon," Sunflora asked, "why did the Mawile allow you to enter without attacking you and Kyogre?"

"We are considered to be divine entities – emissaries of Registeel – by some of the more primitive Pokémon," Groudon replied.

Kyogre scowled. She thought the Mawile's effigy of Registeel was in bad taste. "Registeel wouldn't be too pleased to find out how the Mawile depicted him," she said.

The group remained silent as they headed down the dark trail.

* * *

"For Legends, Groudon and Kyogre sure are incompetent," Loudred said. He was eating some oran berries with the Combee honey. Wigglytuff was entertaining the guild members with a dance act involving a perfect apple.

"Hey, hey, do you have anything nice to say about those two?" Corphish asked.

Loudred scowled but said nothing.

Soon, the deep footsteps of Groudon echoed through the campsite as he, Kyogre, Sunflora and Bidoof entered. They passed by Querc, who was leaning against his tent and stuffing himself with some Combee honey.

"You're late," Chatot replied. He had volunteered to do sentry duty.

"We have a very good reason," Kyogre said.

Chatot rolled his eyes; the two Legendaries were masters of making excuses. "Tell me about it," he said sarcastically.

"We nearly ended up with roast Bidoof."

The entire guild turned their heads towards the group. Had the two Legends done something as outrageous as set fire to a guild member? The silence was stifling.

"A group of Mawile nearly cooked Bidoof and they tried to kill Sunflora," Kyogre replied.

"Oh my gosh! It was so scary. Eek! Those spears!" Sunflora added.

The guild members began talking amongst themselves. Savage Mawile who eat outsiders?

"So how do we keep ourselves from ending up as dinner for those savages?" Breaker asked. He shuddered; being cooked into a soup was not how he wanted to die.

"They will not attack us as Kyogre and myself are considered divinities," Groudon said

The group breathed a near visible sigh of relief.

"At least those two are good for something," Loudred muttered.

"Loudred! You will treat all members of the guild with respect!" Chatot scolded.

"I think we could all use a hot meal and some sleep," Chimecho said.

"Agreed," Kyogre said. Her stomach growled. She hovered over to the "dining table"– really a large flat rock with a log rolled up against it to serve as a seat – in the middle of the campsite. She noticed that only the "command tent" had a design reminiscent of Wigglytuff's head; the other tents looked like olive green yurts.

"So Ky," Querc said, sitting next to her, "how did the Mawile treat you?"

"Do not call me 'Ky'," Kyogre said with a yawn.

"Okay, _Kyogre_, how did the Mawile treat you?"

"Pretty good, considering Groudon and myself are considered divinities among them."

Breaker was the next to arrive at the table. He was holding the clay pot that Kyogre had received as an offering and eating its contents. "This is really good stuff but what is it?" he asked.

Kyogre telekinetically took the pot from him and peered in it. "Dried meat. And knowing the Mawile, I'd wager it was the last explorer who encountered them," she replied.

Breaker suddenly looked very ill. "Excuse me," he said, bolting from the table with a hand over his mouth. He ran behind the nearest tree and proceeded to vomit.

"I think I just lost my appetite," Loudred said. He had arrived just after Kyogre explained what was in the pot.

"Same here," Corphish replied. He was sitting next to Breaker.

Kyogre excused herself and took the pot of meat with her. She quickly dug a small hole and buried it. She felt disgusted at the fact that Breaker had eaten the remains of an explorer without knowing it.

* * *

Chimecho telekinetically carried the treasure bag full of firewood to the "kitchen" which consisted of a circular pit surrounded by stones; a rock stacked with pots, cutlery, pans and dishes; another rock that was used as a cutting board and several baskets of fruits and assorted vegetables on the ground.

She prepared the fire pit by tossing some dried leaves as tinder and carefully stacking up the pieces of wood. She was thankful that her telekinetic powers were as precise, if not more precise than a pair of hands. She then telekinetically scraped a silver spike and an iron spike together, throwing off showers of sparks that eventually ignited the tinder and eventually the campfire. She then placed a metal slab over the campfire, placed a pot that was filled with Combee honey and water on it and waited for the mixture to start boiling.

She telekinetically levitated some Combee honey into her mouth. The fruity sweetness overwhelmed her. The Combee and Vespiqueen village in this area was famed for its honey but it was nearly impossible to acquire unless one directly purchases it from the village.

She then tossed in some freshly washed oran berries. Tonight was going to be a good dinner.

* * *

Meanwhile, Palkia, Lugia and James were on the road leading to small port town of Surf Point. Luckily, James's apartment was on the outskirts of Lilycove City. It was now early afternoon and the scent of the sea permeated the air. A small sign pointed to a wooden bridge over the dunes. The sign read "Beach Access".

Lugia looked at the sign. "Hey, James, Palkia," he said. "I'm going to go for a quick swim."

"Okay, we'll have lunch ready when you come back," James replied.

Just as Lugia flapped his wings and soared into the sky, James led the group over to picnic area that also had a designated battle area which was about the size of a football field.

"So what have you got for lunch?" Palkia asked.

"Rice balls, some pre-packed vegan chili, some pasta with tomato sauce," James replied.

Palkia sat down on the picnic table and took off his messenger bag as James got out the rice balls.  


* * *

  
As Lugia soared over the beach, he literally became the center of attention. Every sunbather and swimmer stopped to behold the silver Legendary soaring above them.

Lugia closed his eyes and drank in the warm sun as he thought about what the future might bring. The black winglets on his back folded down and he entered a steep dive, crashing into the water like a meteor.

He swam through briny deep of the ocean. Granted, he was fairly far from the beach but still visible. His eyes opened and emitted a gentle blue light that let him see in the murky water. He passed by two surprised scuba divers who appeared to be busy searching for treasure.  


* * *

Meanwhile, James had finished preparing lunch. It was just rice balls. James's pokémon were out as well.

"So James, what do you plan to do when you get to Altomare?" Palkia asked, shoving half a rice ball down his throat.

"Well, you said you knew some people there, right?" James replied, taking a bite of his rice ball.

Palkia nodded.

At this point, Wukong went up to Palkia. "Hey, Palkia, how's about a battle?" he asked.

"Can you wait until I'm done eating first?" Palkia asked, taking another rice ball.

Wukong shrugged and took a rice ball. He sniffed it then took a bite of it. "Hey, James, these are pretty good," he said.

Quartzon came up to the group at this point. "Hey! Let me have one!" she chirped.

James broke a rice ball in half and handed the half to Quartzon who eagerly devoured it.

At this point, Lugia, dripping wet from his swim, landed near them.

"Enjoy your swim?" James asked.

"Yep," Lugia replied. He took a rice ball and started eating it. He took off his drenched messenger bag and placed it in the sun to dry.

James realized he had a somewhat awkward question to ask the two Legends. "Erm, Palkia, Lugia, I have a bit of a difficult question to ask," he said.

Palkia ate his third rice ball. "Go on," he replied.

"Well… if we get challenged to a friendly battle, I want to be able to add it to my win record and if you or Lugia battle, it will not count."

Palkia nodded. He knew where this was going. "So you want us to be registered to you as 'your' pokémon?" he asked.

James nodded. "Look, you and Lugia don't have to do this if you don't want," he blurted out.

"Why not? It's a fair trade, you're risking your life and your job to help us and all we have to do is get registered to you as 'your' pokémon,"

James then turned to Lugia. "Lugia, is this fine with you?" he asked. He inwardly sighed as he realized that he got the bad part of the bargain.

"What?" Lugia asked. He was stuffing himself on rice balls.

Palkia sighed; Lugia was easily distracted by food. "James asked if you want to be registered as 'his' pokémon," he said.

"Why not?"

"Okay," James said, pulling out his Pokédex and scanning Lugia and Palkia. A list of their attacks showed up. "On a side note, this means that I will issue commands in battle. Will you listen to them?"

"As long as you don't issue something idiotic or suicidal, we'll obey like pretty much any trained pokémon," Lugia replied. He then grinned. "On a side note, can we issue you 'battle commands' when we're in a 'serious' battle? I.E with kidnappers or thugs," he added.

James shrugged. "Why not? Your probably have more experience in 'serious battles' than I do," he replied.

At this point, a young man dressed in a safari hat and short sleeved shirt and shorts approached the group. "Hey, wanna battle?" he asked.

James grinned. "Sure!" he replied. "Challenger picks the format."

"All right! Time to rock!" Wukong said, cracking his knuckles. He and the other pokémon were watching from the picnic table. Lugia was still eating.

"Don't be so hasty," Ferrum replied. He was done eating a Pidgey he had killed moments before.

"Oh, come on when was the last time you battled?"

"Like you've done any battling yourself?

"Wukong, Ferrum, knock it off!" James scolded.

The young man suddenly spoke. "One-on-one battle, challenger goes first," he said.

James nodded. "Fair enough," he replied.

He then stood at the red side of the rectangular arena. Four shield generators in the form of metal poles at the edge of the rectangle protected the trainers and any spectators from injury due to stray attacks.

The young man stood opposite on the blue side. He tossed a poké ball onto the field, where it opened to reveal a Gallade.

James smirked. "A Gallade," he said. He then decided who to use. Wukong was out as he would probably be caught off guard by the Psychic-type of the Gallade. Quartzon was not experienced enough. That left Ferrum and the two Legendaries.

"Hey, you going to battle or forfeit?" the young man shouted.

"I'm waiting," the Gallade said testily, crossing his arms.

"Ferrum! You're up!" James barked.

Ferrum flew from his perch atop a nearby tree and into the arena. "Finally, a battle," he said.

"This is a one-on-one battle between James and an unknown male trainer," Lugia announced. His portable music player and speakers had been set up at his feet.

"The name's Thomas!" the young man shouted.

Lugia facepalmed. "This is a one-on-one battle between James and Thomas!" he announced. "Let the battle begin!"

He then turned on the music player and speaker and almost immediately _Lachrimae_ by Audiomachine started blasting out over the arena.

"You can't do that!" Thomas shouted.

"No rule saying that music is forbidden in battles!" Lugia countered.

"Fine. Gallade! Use projectile Psycho Cut!"

Gallade's arms glowed green for a moment, then a green crescent energy blade shot at Ferrum, who shot into the sky, easily dodging it. Another Psycho Cut flew his way.

"Ferrum! Dodge and counter with a Steel Wing!" James yelled over the frantic choir of the battle music.

Ferrum did an aerial back flip and the green energy blade shot harmlessly into the sky. His wings shimmered and hardened into two razor-edged scimitars. He flew at Gallade, intending to cut him in half. But Gallade was ready; he leapt into the air behind Ferrum and tossed several Psycho Cut attacks at him.

Ferrum cried out in pain as he was struck by the psionic blades and crashed to the ground. "So, you intend to exploit my lack of ranged attacks?" he asked.

Gallade landed in front of him with his right elbow blade glowing green. "First rule of combat, exploit your enemy's weaknesses," he said.

Ferrum smirked as he flapped his wings, sending two white crescents crashing into Gallade and knocking him backwards. "Second rule of combat, never get complacent with your foe," he replied. He then shot into the sky, avoiding a jumping slash from Gallade's elbow blades.

"Nice Air Cutter!" James shouted. "Try it again! And charge with a Steel Wing!"

At this point, the "battle music" switched to Immediate Music's _O Destina_. Ferrum flapped his wings and sent a flurry of white crescents at Gallade.

"Gallade! Counter with your projectile Psycho Cut and attack with a melee Psycho Cut!" Thomas shouted.

Gallade launched a flurry of green crescent blades at the incoming swarm of Air Cutter attacks. The two attacks collided and exploded with a sound similar to that of gunshots. He leapt into the air with both elbow blades extended and glowing green. His arms were raised over his head in preparation to slam his elbows into Ferrum.

Ferrum, meanwhile, was charging towards Gallade at high speed with both wings hardened into steel. His entire body shuddered as his steely wings collided with Gallade's elbow blades. The shock of the impact forced him to move backwards and lose some altitude but thanks to Ferrum's greater speed, Gallade got the worst of it. He was thrown back several feet and nearly collided with the invisible barrier.

Gallade's entire body ached but he refused to give up. He pushed himself to his feet and extended his elbow blades. "I congratulate you. Your Air Cutter caught me off guard," he said.

"Gallade! Let's take it up! Try your Psi Sword!" Thomas shouted over the thundering bass and driving choir of _O Destina_.

Gallade made a motion of drawing a sword from an invisible sheath around his waist. Almost immediately, a glowing green energy blade flared to life in his right hand. This was the Psi Sword attack – the third and arguably coolest manifestation of Psycho Cut.

Ferrum's jaw dropped; he had never seen a Pokémon wield any sort of weapon, let alone a sword of psychic energy. "But…" he trailed off.

Gallade chuckled. "What? It's not for nothing that we Gallade are known as masters of swordsmanship," he replied.

Ferrum charged at Gallade with a Steel Wing. Almost instantly, Gallade pivoted and used his sword to deflect the attack. He retaliated with a lunging thrust at Ferrum's chest.

Ferrum quickly dipped down, using his steely wings to guard against the fierce lunge. He used his other wing to slash at Gallade who quickly leapt to the side and took a swing at Ferrum's head.

He quickly ducked under the strike, the glowing blade grazing the steel crest on his head. He noticed that Gallade had left an opening for him to strike with a Slash attack. As he prepared to strike, Gallade dodged the slash and drove the sword into Ferrum's side.

Ferrum cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Even though there was no physical injury, he lay on the ground, unconscious.

Lugia turned off his music player just as _Requiem Rave_ by Immediate Music was about to start. "Aww, my unofficial theme was next," he muttered. He then cleared his throat. "Ferrum is unable to battle, Gallade is the winner!" he shouted.

Ferrum soon regained consciousness. As soon as he did so, Gallade "sheathed" his sword and helped Ferrum to his feet. "Ferrum, your battling skills are admirable. I have never had such a thrilling duel with a Flying-type. Good luck to you in further battles and may Arceus be with you," he said with a bow. He then walked over to Thomas, who recalled him.

Ferrum staggered over to James. "Can someone hand me a potion or something?" he asked.

Palkia fished out a potion from his messenger bag and sprayed it on Ferrum. "Damn, Ferrum, you're pretty good," he said.

"Thanks, but still, I think the Psycho Sword attack caught me off guard. I mean, when was the last time you saw a pokémon wielding any sort of weapon?"

Palkia chuckled. "Well, I once saw a Pikachu and a Meowth engaged in a sword fight. It was a totally legit battle too," he said.

"Where?" James asked.

Lugia then landed next to James. "Battle Frontier. They have some really, really, really weird battle themes there. Everything from a dungeon crawler theme where you explore a giant pyramid and battle other trainers and 'wild pokémon' to the infamous 'reverse pokémon battle'," he replied.

Thomas then approached the group. "Well, I'd say you've got a pretty good team," he said, looking over the group. "But you do realize that having a pokémon referee a pokémon battle is strictly against league rules?"

"This isn't a league sanctioned battle and you didn't raise any objections to it so I assumed it was okay. And besides, you won!" James countered.

Thomas said nothing but walked away in a huff.

Palkia was busy packing up their supplies. "Let's get moving or we'll miss the ferry," he said.

"Lugia, you can fly right?" Palkia asked as he stuffed the music player back into Lugia's bag.

Lugia nodded. "I can but I can't carry you, Palkia," he said.

"And I really don't like flying on the back of a pokémon," James added. He recalled Quartzon, Ferrum and Wukong.

As soon as they were done packing up they headed towards the ferry terminal at the border of Surf Point.  


* * *

Meanwhile, Zero was cruising above Sootopolis City at 45,000 feet in the Megarig. He was sitting in the flight deck having a glass of soda while Infi was busy scanning for the Legendaries. The ship's powerful sensor suite and total lack of armor or armament – save for an energy net capture system – hinted at its past as Professor Newton Graceland's research vessel. The "Origin Fighter" hanging underneath the ship was originally a reconnaissance vehicle; it still served that purpose but it now carried weaponry – just a single energy discharge cannon – along with a small shield generator.

"Infi, have you detected any Legendaries?" Zero asked.

"Negative," Infi replied.

Zero sighed and looked out the window. Outside was his squadron of Magnemite and Magneton. A Magnezone "commander" headed each wing – five in all. The low hum of the Megarig's antigravity pods was very soothing to him and he started to get drowsy. He leaned the pilot's chair back and prepared to fall asleep when Cyrus's voice came on through the speaker system.

"Zero! Have you found the Legendaries yet?" Cyrus demanded via the speaker.

Zero shot out of his seat. "No, Cyrus. I am currently-" he glanced at the radar screen "-above western Sootopolis City," he said.

"Set course for Altomare! The city's treasure is needed for-"

"Zero, I have detected two Legendaries at the edge of sensor range," Infi said.

"Direction," Zero ordered.

"The northwest."

"Zero, dispatch some grunts to keep an eye on the two Legendaries. Head to Altomare. Cyrus out." The radio connection then ended with a click.

"Yes sir," Zero said. "Infi, divert all power from shields and energy net to engines and set course for Altomare."

"As you wish," Infi replied. Almost immediately, the indicator bars for the power feed to the shields and energy net dropped from roughly half to nearly empty and the bar that showed the power feed to the engines shot up from half to nearly full. Even though the airspeed indicator showed that the Megarig was gradually accelerating from 65 miles per hour to about 100 miles per hour, he could barely feel anything.

He then radioed the grunts that were aboard his ship. Unlike the _Hikokyu II_, which could carry and support hundreds of grunts, the Megarig could carry and support five grunts at most.

He leaned back in the chair and dozed off – it was flight of at least three hours from Sootopolis City to Altomare and he hadn't gotten much sleep.  


* * *

Inside a small locker room on the Megarig, a trio of grunts were suiting up and preparing to head out on the recon mission.

"I don't see why Zero can't do this himself," a grunt grumbled, struggling to get a secure fit on the oxygen mask and helmet.

"Do you know how to pilot this ship?" another grunt shot back as he struggled to don the heated suit that would protect them from the frigid air miles above the earth.

A few minutes later, the Team Galactic grunts were fully decked out in their oxygen masks (dangling around their necks), heated suit, heated gloves and a helmet with a tinted visor. A small emergency oxygen tank dangled from their waists. Their masks were already hooked up to the tank so they would not have to waste precious seconds hooking up the tank. The grunts also carried pistols in hip holsters and wore what appeared to be mountaineering harnesses.

As they walked from locker room to the tiny hangar, they noticed that several hover skiffs were lined up. Each skiff was hooked up to two lines snaking from the wall.

"All right, let's get this show on the road," a female – not that one would know thanks to the heated suit and face concealing helmets – grunt said.

The grunts opened the hangar doors and disconnected the skiffs from their recharging and oxygen supply lines. After donning their oxygen masks, connecting the masks to the skiff's oxygen supply and plugging the outlet for the heated suits into the skiff, they strapped themselves in. The restraints were very simple; a mountaineering harness attached to a hard point on the skiff.

After that was achieved, the grunts started up the skiffs' antigravity engines, filling the hangar with a dull buzz that gradually became a steady roar.

One by one, the skiffs sped out into the cold, thin air above the seemingly infinite sea of clouds in search of the two Legends.


	11. Chapter 11: Through the Sea of Time

Chapter 11: Through the Sea of Time

Thunder rumbled in on the flight deck of the _Hikokyu II_ as it flew through an intense thunderstorm above Goldenrod City. Even though the chronometer read 14:00, the only thing visible through the windows was a wall of black clouds and the dull red running lights on the ship.

It was perfect save for one element: the pilot. Two Team Rocket grunts armed with submachine guns and decked out in body armor flanked the entrance.

Suddenly, the words "missile lock on detected" flashed on the computer screen.

The two grunts looked at each other. They knew they were in trouble but they had no idea how to pilot the _Hikokyu II _let alone operate its array of weapons and countermeasures.

* * *

Outside the airship, four AA-122 "Altaria" antigravity seeking missiles streaked upwards into the stormy sky. The _Hikokyu II_ had absolutely no chance of outrunning them as the missiles' top speed was around Mach 3, while the airship topped out at around eighty miles per hour. Theoretically the only way the airship could avoid being targeted was flying at high altitudes; its flight ceiling was around 97,000 feet while the missiles' flight ceiling topped out at 90,000 feet. Unfortunately, there was no chance of that as the missile's rate of climb greatly exceeded the _Hikokyu II_'s rate of climb.

The missiles had been fired from a Silph Co. AEGIS cruiser miles below them and patrolling the waters research around a Hoenn naval base. It had hailed the airship several times in an attempt to get it to turn back but since the ship's AI could not respond to a radio message, the AEGIS cruiser took it as a threat and attempted to bring it down.

As the missiles closed in, the ship's AI released a burst of infrared flares in an attempt to divert them. Unfortunately, the missiles locked onto the gravity fluctuations caused by the antigravity pods on the _Hikokyu II _and were completely unaffected by the flares. Four point defense 20 mm gatling guns on the ventral surface of the ship deployed and fired a hail of explosive 20 mm shells to try and detonate the missiles before they reached the ship.

One of the missiles exploded in a burst of fire as the shells struck it but the three other missiles struck their targets: the antigravity engine pods.

* * *

Lawrence III had been taking a bubble bath when the siren sounded. He leapt from the bathtub, knocking the candle into the bathtub and nearly hitting his head on the so-called "Ancient Mew" carving – a carving of a stylized Mew along with several mysterious glyphs made on a copper plate that had been treated to give it a dazzling rainbow patina (it was actually a reproduction; he knew better than to put a priceless treasure in the bathroom) and darted into the shower – which in stark contrast to the light grey bathtub and surrounding white tile, was made of gleaming white tile and stainless steel, giving it a resemblance to a cryogenic stasis pod one might find on a starship from a science fiction movie.

He turned on the water and pondered exactly why he was wasting time taking a shower when shit had hit the fan. He then reminded himself that it simply would not do to appear in front of his subordinates covered in rose petals and cheri berry scented suds.

After a one-minute rinse, he quickly dried off and tossed on a pair of pajamas and slippers.

He bolted from the room and boarded the elevator that would lead him to the habitation deck where the rec room and other amenities – including a full service restaurant – were located.

* * *

Back on the bridge of the ship, the siren blared as the AI tried to simultaneously repair the severely damaged engines and keep the airship moving. The two grunts wondered if Lawrence III was even aware of the serious emergency.

"Warning! Antigravity pods seven, three and five are severely damaged! Warning! Antigravity pods seven, three and five are severely damaged!" the ship's AI said in an androgynous monotone.

As the seconds passed, the AI's insistent warning was starting to grate on the nerves of a grunt. "Someone just shoot that fucking AI!" he snarled.

The other grunt yawned and patted the spare SMG magazine clipped to his belt. "Lawrence III will eventually shut it up," he said.

"If he takes too long, I'm shutting it up myself!"

"You're starting to annoy me as much as the AI," the second grunt said with a yawn.

* * *

Lawrence III disembarked the elevator and looked around the habitation deck. Not surprisingly, the myriad windows that ringed the habitation deck were covered in armored shutters and the area was deserted for the grunts had manned their battle stations. He then stepped inside the secure elevator – located next to the "ecosystem recycling facility", AKA the Greenhouse – that rapidly carried him 120 feet straight up to the primary flight deck. The elevator was pressurized to ensure Lawrence III's comfort – despite that, it felt like his stomach had fallen into his feet. As the elevator ascended, he wondered exactly had happened, was it a lightning strike? An enemy attack? A collision with another aircraft?

After several seconds, the door opened and he stepped out. The two guards saluted him but they tried not to snicker at his Dialga slippers and the red pajamas with Cyndaquil pictures printed all over.

He then sat in the pilot's chair and silenced the alarm. "Bosch, give me the briefing!" he ordered.

"Ship was painted with radar designator and four missiles were. Infrared flare countermeasures ineffective. Ventral point defense cannons succeeded in destroying one. Antigravity pods seven, three and five are severely damaged," Bosch replied in its electronic, androgynous voice. Bosch could have easily been programmed with a sultry female voice or a hyper-masculine male voice and the attendant personalities but Lawrence III found the idea of a gendered ship AI with personality too bizarre for his taste. So the ship's AI, Bosch, remained genderless, devoid of personality and with a voice that was neither male nor female.

"Damn it, we're fucked if they decide to launch other missiles," he muttered. Even though the _Hikokyu II_ was still perfectly capable of flying with one or even two pods missing, it could not handle the loss of three or more pods. Luckily, Cyrus had outfitted his ship with self-repairing antigravity pods. As long as they did not become completely detached from the ship, a small teleportation system would teleport in nanites from the home base. The nanites would then slowly begin to repair the damage – no matter how severe it was.

"Bosch, give me altitude, rate of descent and forward airspeed!" Lawrence III barked.

"Altitude is 49,526 feet and dropping at approximately 49 feet per second. Forward airspeed is 15 knots," Bosch replied.

"Bosch, display power map."

A glowing holographic map flickered to life in front of Lawrence III. Several green lines led from the reactor – signified by a glowing blue sphere – in the middle of the ship. Several other boxes showed the power consumption of various shipboard facilities.

"All right, what is non-essential?" he muttered.

His eyes fell on the box that read "rec room".

* * *

Meanwhile, Mars was inside Cynthia's bedroom. She was sitting on a chair set perpendicular to the bed. She took a sip of oran berry juice out of the glass that was sitting on the end table on her right. Strewn around the bed were Cynthia's clothes. The light in the room was dim, adding to the romantic ambience.

On the foot of the bed was a totally nude Cynthia. She had a devious grin on her face and she appeared to be wearing a strap-on. She also appeared to be carrying a riding crop.

Mars practically salivated as she watched the Sinnoh Elite Four champion gently caress her Garchomp, who was currently face down and had all of her limbs tied to the bedpost with what appeared to be red chains.

"Cynthia, please, don't do this!" Garchomp pleaded, tears rolling down her face. Surprisingly, she spoke English but with a sultry Spanish accent.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Mars chanted – not that Cynthia and Garchomp could hear her. She salivated even more as she heard Garchomp's sexy voice.

Cynthia gave Garchomp a hard swat on her hindquarters with the riding crop. "You will call me master!" she barked.

Garchomp sobbed softly as the hard blow landed. "Y…Yes, master," she said. She held her breath in expectation of more blows.

Cynthia held Garchomp's head to her breast and stroked her neck. "That's a good girl," she cooed.

Garchomp closed her eyes as Cynthia rose up and prepared to penetrate her.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Mars screamed, almost as if she were having an orgasm.

Suddenly, the entire scene flickered several times and Cynthia and Garchomp became unrecognizable blurs of color.

"Hey! Who ruined my VR-DVD of _Champ-Chomp_ _IV_!" Mars shouted as the bedroom began dissolving into blurs.

Suddenly, the entire scene vanished, leaving only empty blackness. Soon the emergency lights clicked on, bathing the entire area in a dull white light and revealing it to be a hangar-like stainless steel room. A stainless steel chair and end table were the only pieces of furnishing in the room.

Mars swore and got up from the stainless steel chair. The two pieces of furniture stayed locked in place thanks to the power outage. She stomped over to the door and opened it. Standing in front of the door were Saturn, Charon and Jupiter. The stale white light of the emergency LED lighting gave them a rather ugly pallor.

"What the hell did you do!" she snapped.

"We are not responsible for the loss of power," Saturn replied.

"You're always hogging the holodeck to watch your stupid _Champ-Chomp_ series! You probably tripped a circuit breaker or something!" Jupiter shouted.

"Hey! At least, I have good taste!" Mars countered.

"Yeah, bestial, lesbian Garchomp sex. Reeaaal tasteful."

Mars opened her mouth to say something when Saturn spoke up. "Commanders, you are all better than that," he said. "We head to the main flight deck and speak with Captain Lawrence."

The four Galactic commanders headed to the elevator, which was still active.

* * *

Lawrence III looked at the power map. It showed that the rec room and the ventral energy cannon were completely offline. The shield generator, sensor suite and shipboard lighting were set to the lowest level. He briefly considered disabling the life support systems – after all, the ship carried enough oxygen masks for its crew and then some. He quickly dismissed that thought as foolish; the ship routinely flew at altitudes where the air was so cold and thin that few pokémon – save for a few hardy Flying-types – are seen.

"Bosch, give me the flight speed, altitude, rate of descent and status of damaged engine pods," he said.

"Flight speed is 15 knots. Altitude is 46,586 feet and dropping at 49 feet per second. Antigravity pods seven, three and five are being repaired at maximum speed. Estimated time until repairs are finished: 37 hours," Bosch replied.

"Bosch, which pod is least severely damaged? Give me an estimate of repair time for that pod."

"Pod three. Estimate repair time is eight hours."

Lawrence III ran some calculations on the computer. He groaned as the calculations came up; the _Hikokyu II_ would have long crashed into the ground before the pod was repaired. He looked at the altimeter; it read 45,851 feet. He examined the power map; the only non-vital piece of equipment was the energy cages that held the Legendaries.

He sighed; he would have to disable them to keep the ship afloat and moving. He pressed a button on the control panel and radioed the Galactic commanders.

"Commanders, I am unlocking the energy cages. Head to the storage bay and move the Legendaries to the shielded holding cell. Over."

* * *

The commanders were just outside the entrance to the main flight deck. Two submachine gun toting guards flanked the entrance.

Suddenly, the radios on the belts of the Galactic commanders went off.

Saturn picked up his radio and received Lawrence III's order. "Copy that we are en route," he said. He the clipped the radio back onto his belt and led the group down the same elevator back into the habitation deck.

He passed by a Rocket grunt sitting on a couch and trying to read in the dim light. His Ekans was coiled up next to him.

The elevator that led to the holding bay arrived. The four commanders stepped inside and the elevator quickly shot into the depths of the ship.

When they arrived at the holding bay, they were awestruck at the size – despite having seen it multiple times before. The bay looked like it could accommodate another decent sized airship.

The Legendaries were floating unconscious inside spherical cages surrounded by arcs of blue electricity.

Several grunts armed with stun grenades, which were miniaturized and somewhat weaker versions of the stun bombs that the _Hikokyu II _was armed with stood at the ready. Several other grunts had pokémon like Machamp and Machoke ready or were wearing powered exoskeletons.

Each of the grunts wore a bodysuit and helmet that mitigated the effect of the stun grenades. The stun grenades would still produce a sensation akin to being doused in flaming gasoline but they would not cause any long term injury – compared to an unprotected human, who would likely suffer permanent numbness, tingling or burning pain in the extremities not to mention possible cardiac problems.

The pokémon were unprotected since a stun grenade blast cannot cause them long term injury.

Charon went up to the console. He radioed the main flight deck. "Captain Lawrence, this is Charon we are in position. Over," he said into the integrated microphone.

"Copy that. Energy cages unlocked. Captain Lawrence out."

Charon turned to the group. "All right, energy cages unlocked. Get ready," he said. He pressed a button; the electrical arcs surrounding Latias ceased and the pokémon dragged her into the aforementioned holding cell in the rear of the holding bay. Heavy steel bars retracted into the floor as Latias was placed into the cell. As soon as the pokémon returned, the bars slid back into place.

Next was Dialga, who took several Machoke and exoskeleton clad grunts to move.

The grunts and their pokémon got to work moving the Legendaries.

* * *

Lawrence III was sipping some cola while he waited for the grunts to finish moving the Legendaries. Several minutes passed and still no word from the Galactic conmanders. Suddenly, a shrill tone sounded in the flight deck.

"Bosch! Report!" he barked.

"Impending crash with the ground. Projected impact speed: 29.05 knots. Altitude: 10,542 feet," Bosch replied.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Lawrence quickly regained his cool. "Bosch, sound general evacuation alarm if altitude drops below 10,100 feet. Status report on power."

"Energy cage array almost offline."

Lawrence's heart pounded. He knew that if he crashed this time, he would probably not be as lucky as the crash at Shamouti Island.

* * *

A few minutes later, all the Legendaries were placed in the holding cell. As soon as the bars slid into place one last time, a blue field radiated from the bars.

Charon doubled checked the console just before he entered the elevator. "Captain Lawerence, this is Charon. Legendaries moved. Charon out," he said into his radio.

"Understood. Well done," Lawrence III said via radio. "Captain Lawrence out."

Charon nodded and clipped the radio back onto his belt. He hoped the power would be fully restored so he could get back to playing video games in his spare time.

* * *

Lawrence III noticed that the energy cages were offline. He quickly checked the altimeter: 10,235 feet. He had literally seconds to spare before the general evacuation alarm sounded.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he shunted the power to the remaining engines and the altimeter began to climb. He glanced at the power map. The shielded holding cell consumed a fair amount of power but nowhere as much as the energy cages.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the holding bay, the Legendaries began to regain consciousness. The holding cell was, surprisingly big enough to hold all of them.

"Ugh, where am I?" Rayquaza asked.

"It seems like we are in some sort of holding cell," Uxie said, "looking" around with his psychic powers.

"Well, I'm tired of this shitty place! I want to get out!" Shaymin shouted. She tried to squeeze between the bars only to get a nasty electric shock causing her to shout a variety of profanities.

"You know, I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that every Legendary was having sex and wanted me to join in," Entei said with a shudder.

"Strange, I dreamt that Giratina covered me in a vinaigrette dressing and tried to eat me as a salad," Shaymin said. She glared at Giratina. "What the fuck's wrong with you?"

Giratina shrugged. "Hey, I dreamt that Arceus left me for a cheap prostitute from Orre," he replied with a shrug.

"I dreamt that I raped my sister," Latios said. He looked visibly ill at the memory.

All the eyes turned to Darkrai, who glared at them. "If you think I'm responsible for this, I have this to say to you: you are fucking stupid!" he snarled.

Dialga looked at the bars of the cell. He looked at the ground as a single silver tear dripped from his eyes.

Mespirt and Cresselia went up to him and gently embraced him.

"I know you miss Palkia, but I'm sure he'll be okay," Cresselia said.

"IT'S NOT JUST THAT…I…I ALSO MISS…"Dialga trailed off, unsure if he should reveal the cuddling and other affectionate activity that took place between him and Lugia. Speaking of which, his most recent memory with Lugia was the time Lugia gave him an unexpected peck on the cheek. He blushed as he recalled that memory. He blushed even deeper as he realized that Mespirit probably picked up on his embarrassment.

Arceus was the next to awaken. She glanced around the holding cell. "Is everyone okay?" she asked.

Everyone answered in the affirmative.

Suddenly, they heard a loud "TAKE THIS! ROAR OF TIME!" They turned their heads and found Dialga charging up a swirling sphere of dark blue energy in front of his mouth. The fin on his back expanded as it started gathering in energy.

"Dialga! Stop! You'll-"

Uxie's words went unheard as Dialga shot a massive indigo beam at the wall. The beam ricocheted off the shielded wall, narrowly missing Ho-oh's head and Azelf and heading straight for Arceus.

Arceus tried to dodge it but she tripped over a passed out Jirachi and was struck full force by the beam.

Arceus was unable to say anything as she was swallowed by the beam.

Everyone stared in horror as Arceus seemed to shrink. "Dialga! You idiot!" Mewtwo shouted.

All of a sudden, the indigo beam exploded in a white flash revealing…baby Arceus!

Every Legendary stared in astonishment as the baby Alpha Pokémon stood before them. Every set of eyes bored into Dialga.

"LOOK, I'M SORRY ABOUT THIS!" Dialga said.

"Sorry? Sorry! You turned me into a baby!" Arceus yelled.

The other Legendaries tried hard not to laugh at Arceus's childish outburst and her new high pitched voice.

"Dialga, is this reversible?" Ho-Oh asked. She smiled as she saw the baby Arceus throwing a tantrum.

Dialga nodded. "GIVE IT ABOUT SIX HOURS," he said.

All of a sudden, Arceus began to cry – loudly.

"Is she hungry?" Heatran asked.

Mesprit went up to Arceus and gently touched her. She closed her eyes as she read Arceus's emotional state. "She's tired," Mesprit replied.

Latias picked up the baby Arceus and gently rocked her to sleep, while humming _Oracion_. In moments, Arceus was asleep in her arms. "She's so cute. Can we keep her like this?" Latias asked.

All of the Legendaries glared at her.

"I was kidding." Latias then gently placed the sleeping Arceus in the corner of the cell.

"You know, she actually does like kind of cute like that," Ho-Oh said, gently stroking the baby Arceus with a wing.

"Yay! Now Arceus and I can play together!" Jirachi exclaimed, flitting around the cramped cell. Apparently, Arceus tripping over him had woken him up.

"This is going to be so awkward later," Giratina said with a sigh.

The other Legendaries said nothing as they waited for Arceus to return to normal. The only thing audible was the steady snoring of the sleeping baby Arceus and the low hum of the _Hikokyu II_'s antigravity pods

* * *

Palkia, Lugia and James were sitting in the ferry terminal at Surf Point waiting for the ship to come in. The late afternoon sun beat down on the crowds of people preparing to board. Bland Muzak wafted though the air.

Palkia was reading _Champion _and enjoying a bottle of lemon soda he had purchased from a vending machine.

Lugia was eating a pretzel and listening to his music player.

James was reading the comics section of the newspaper.

Suddenly, a chime signaling the arrival of the ship sounded. Several passengers dashed to the gate at its sound.

"Palkia, Lugia, we're ready to go," James said, putting his newspaper in his pocket.

Lugia took off his headphones and dangled them around his neck. He then stuck the music player inside his messenger bag. Palkia put the bottle of lemon soda back into his messenger bag.

The three then waited in line to board the ship. After having their tickets punched and boarding the ship, they headed to the lounge, which bore a rather tasteful oceanic design with wallpaper designed to evoke ocean waves.

"So now what?" Lugia asked, putting his feet on the table, donning his headphones turning his portable music player back on.

"I guess we wait," Palkia replied. "It's a journey of about an hour or so. Speaking of which, anyone want some food?"

Lugia paused his music player. "How about some fried Pidgey strips?" he said.

"Fine by me," James said. He then let out Ferrum, Quartzon and Wukong.

Palkia then got up and went to the food stand next to the gift shop.

* * *

As Palkia stood in line, he looked at the tacky kitsch that the gift shop sold. He briefly pondered getting a bandana labeled "Surf Point Ferry Lines" but thought that it would be too tacky for any purpose. His eyes passed over a pack of gracidea joints. He rolled his eyes; Shaymin must have struck a deal with this ferry line to sell her products.

Behind him were a young man with indigo hair and a young woman with magenta hair. Both of them were dressed as tourists, complete with shirts decorated with loud floral patterns.

"That him?" the woman whispered.

"Dat's him all right. One of da Legends!" their Meowth said.

"Excellent, Cyrus will reward us handsomely."

Palkia failed to hear them as he was called up to the next empty space.

The mysterious couple was called up next. They kept looking at him.

Palkia paid them no heed as he walked away with his tub of fried Pidgey strips and several containers of ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce. Several of the tourists stared at him as they had never seen a pokémon speak English let alone order something.

* * *

Palkia returned to where Lugia and James and his pokémon were sitting. Lugia was still listening to his music player while James was chatting with his pokémon

"Food's here," Palkia said, setting the tub of Pidgey strips onto the table.

Almost immediately, Ferrum leapt onto the table and started devouring the strips.

"Hey save some for us!" Wukong shouted.

"Shove it!" Ferrum said between bites.

Wukong seethed. He grabbed a handful of the strips and shoved them into his mouth. "The way you eat, I'm surprised you don't look like a flying oil drum," he muttered.

James reached into the bucket and dipped them into the container of mustard and started eating.

Palkia had his strips with BBQ sauce. Lugia and Quartzon preferred theirs with ketchup.

"For a snack bar on a ferry, this isn't half bad," James said, wiping his hands on a napkin.

In only minutes, the tub of Pidgey strips was gone. Quartzon and Lugia were busy licking the ketchup containers clean. Palkia picked up the trash and threw it out. James got up to go to the bathroom.

While Palkia and James gone; Quartzon, Wukong, Ferrum and Lugia chatted amongst themselves.

"So exactly where are we heading?" Ferrum asked. He was busy preening his iron feathers.

"Some place called Altomare," Wukong replied, sipping the lemonade that Palkia had purchased and left unattended.

"Why are we heading there?"

Wukong shrugged. "Dunno but I think we're going to be seeing the famed Soul Dew of Altomare," he replied.

Quartzon was busy sticking her head out the window and enjoying the salty scent of the sea.

Lugia was busy listening to his music.

A few minutes later, James returned. "Anybody seen Palkia?" he asked.

Everyone shrugged.

Wukong simply got up and headed off to look for him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Palkia was in the arcade of the ferry. He was playing a game of Pac-Man.

Not surprisingly, he attracted a small crowd – including the mysterious man and woman from before. The crowd came not only because he was a non-human but because he was quickly encroaching on the high score.

Suddenly, Wukong pushed through the crowd, much to the distress of said crowd. "Palkia, I've been looking for you," he said.

Palkia ignored him. Just as he set a new high score on the machine, Wukong finally got fed up with him, grabbed hold of his tail and literally dragged him away from the machine.

The crowd surged to the machine. Palkia had beaten the previous high score by a single point.

* * *

As soon as they were away from the arcade, Palkia yanked his tail back from Wukong. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"Did you realize you are in danger?" Wukong replied.

"What!"

Wukong frowned. "The blue-haired man and red-haired woman. They're trouble," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Palkia facepalmed, he never knew Wukong was so paranoid. Nevertheless he followed Wukong back to the lounge where Lugia, James and the others were located.

"So Palkia have you been buying gracidea joints?" Lugia asked, nibbling on a candy gracidea joint from a pack that he purchased from the snack bar. He offered the candy joints to everyone. Ferrum and Palkia declined while Wukong took one and mistaking it for a real joint, tried lighting it with a short burst of fire. He swore as he ended up with a handful of molten sugar. James ate the candy joint in only two bites while Quartzon sucked on it.

Just then, a man and his Combusken ran by the group.

"Hey, there's something really weird going on at the bow of the ship! Everyone's there!" he said. Not bothering to wait for a response, he left and headed for the bow of the ship.

"I'm gonna go check it out. Want to come?" Palkia asked.

Lugia shrugged and put his headphones away. "Why not? It'll give us something to do," he replied.

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do," James added.

"Maybe a fight's broken out!" Ferrum said excitedly.

"Ferrum! Don't join in the fight! Last time you did that, I got ejected from Lilycove Seaside Park!"

Ferrum shrugged.

"Come on or we'll miss it!" Palkia said.

He then darted down the halls with the others following.

* * *

At the bow of the ship, the two tourists dressed in the loud clothing were standing at the head of a large crowd. The red haired woman held a knife to the throat of the ship's first mate, a thin but rather muscular black haired man. The first mate also had his arms bound with cable ties taken from a closet.

"Listen up! I want everyone here to surrender their pokémon or the captain gets it!" the woman snarled.

"Please, do as they say," the first mate pleaded.

"Who are you!" the ship's engineer demanded.

The woman chuckled. "Prepare for trouble!" she said.

"Make it double!" the man added.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nations!"

"To de-" the woman saw a man about to toss a poké ball. "Ah, ah, ah. It's rude to interrupt," she said, wagging her finger. She then cleared her throat. "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

* * *

Meanwhile as the man and woman proceeded through with their motto, the captain of the ship, a rugged grey haired man, finally smashed down the door to the pilothouse with a fire ax. They had locked him there and destroyed the radio set. He carefully crept to the edge of the balcony and saw his first mate being held a knifepoint.

He gasped as he saw the man and woman toss off their clothes, revealing Team Rocket uniforms.

He quickly bolted back to the pilothouse and grabbed a flare gun. He knew that he only had one shot and a miss could leave him with a dead first mate.

The captain returned to the balcony, drew a bead on the woman and fired.

The burning projectile streaked towards her head.

* * *

"Team Rocket, blast off at the-" the woman began.

"Jessie look out!" the man shouted.

Jessie turned her head and saw the flare streaking towards her. She quickly dove out of the way, dropping her knife in the process and sending it skittering along the deck. A quick thinking bystander kicked the knife away.

"Gah, it's a battle you want? A battle you'll get!" Jessie snarled.

Meowth extended his claws.

"Are you sure you want to fight against all of us?" Palkia asked, shoving his way through the crowd and "drawing" his glowing pink Spacial Rend "sword". Lugia, James, Quartzon, Wukong and Ferrum followed. James brandished his E-tool while Wukong sheathed his fists in roiling orange flames. Ferrum hardened his wings.

Jessie chuckled. "Ah, Palkia, I was looking for you," she said.

Palkia was taken aback. "How do you know my name!" he demanded.

"Everyone knows who you are. Same goes to you, Lugia."

"Wukong, you were right. They are trouble," Lugia whispered.

"So'se you wanna give up without a fight or do we'se got to use force?" Meowth asked.

"Suck it," Ferrum snarled.

James pulled out a stun grenade and prepared to pull the pin when a huge leather-clad man tackled him, sending the grenade rolling – without the pin. Lugia quickly used his psychic powers to pick up the grenade and toss as far as possible. An intense flash of blue light lit up the distance as it detonated.

"Now about that battle," Palkia said. He then turned to the gathered ferry passengers, many of whom had deployed their pokémon. Those who had no pokémon wielded things like glass bottles, pocketknives, fire extinguishers and fire axes they had snatched from their mounting brackets.

Jessie, James and Meowth paled. They were horribly outnumbered, even with their pokémon. They raised their hands in surrender – at least Jessie and Meowth did, James was currently pinned by the massive man.

Several of the posse led the three thieves to the lounge, where they bound and gagged them.

Lugia sat in one of the deck chairs and leaned back. He soon fell asleep.

Palkia looked at him and facepalmed. He knew what was going to happen later on but he did not want to embarrass Lugia by pulling out a diaper from his bag, waking him up and telling him to put it before he fell asleep. The other option, diapering Lugia while he was asleep would have caused Palkia infinite embarrassment and Lugia would have killed him for humiliating him so.

Ferrum perched on the railing of the ship. He relished the sea breeze flowing through his steely wings. "You know, that man used one of the best Take Down attacks I have ever seen," he said.

"Don't be ridiculous, humans can't use pokémon attacks," Wukong scoffed.

"They can't? What about the trainer we fought a few days ago who specialized in Psychic types? He pulled off a perfectly serviceable Confusion attack. And James himself once pulled off a pretty damn good Tackle – or was it a Take Down?"

James was sitting on the deck chair and soaking in the sun and the briny wind.

Palkia sat in the deck chair and looked out on the horizon. In the distance was the City of Canals: Altomare. He sighed; Latias and Latios told him about the beauty of their home city but he knew that sightseeing was probably the last thing they were going to do.


	12. Chapter 12: The City of Canals

Chapter 12: The City of Canals

Palkia and James disembarked from the ferry along with the other passengers. Some of the crew members were busy hosing down the deck chair that Lugia had been napping on. Several Altomare police officers were present to take Jessie, James and Meowth into custody.

"That was an…interesting trip," Palkia said. He was holding a luxury ball that contained Lugia.

"So why is Lugia inside the luxury ball?" James asked.

Palkia winced. James was going to find out about Lugia's problems sooner or later but he was not comfortable talking about it with James since Lugia could probably hear them. "I'd rather not talk about that," he said, putting the luxury ball in his bag.

James shrugged. "So what's next on the agenda?" he asked.

"Let's get a hotel room and eat dinner first."

"Fine by me," James said.

They then stood by one of the canals and flagged down a water taxi to take them to the center of Altomare.

Palkia leaned back in the seat and enjoyed the fresh air flowing over his head. He noticed that an ad for a concert starring the Lati siblings had been partially painted over. He tried not to look at the ad as it bought back the panicked phone call from Latios.

After several minutes, the water taxi arrived at the center of Altomare. James paid the fare and they disembarked and climbed the stairs to the town square. The town square was dominated by a bronze statue that showed Latias and Latios as if they were in flight. Several people and pokémon were milling about and the designated battle areas were all full. Still others were laying offerings on the bronze statue. A few were taking photos. And of course, some tourists were climbing on it, despite the prominent placard that read "NO CLIMBING" placed on the pedestal of the statue.

Palkia went up to a newsstand and bought three bottles of lemon soda and a newspaper. He was rather surprised to see that no one paid any heed to him.

He stuck one of the bottles in his bag and sat on an ornate iron picnic table. He opened the bottle of soda and started drinking as he read the newspaper.

James had purchased some lemon ice from a street vendor and was busy devouring it. "So Pallie, what's on the news?" he asked.

Palkia turned the newspaper to James. The headline read "Altomare's Guardians Missing!"

James paled. "You don't think…" he trailed off.

Palkia nodded as he took a sip of his lemon soda. "They did," he replied. "In any case, let's get to a hotel and prepare for dinner."

James finished off his lemon ice and tossed the paper cup into the nearby garbage can.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Megarig sped towards Altomare on autopilot. Zero was still sleeping in the flight deck.

Suddenly, the radio clicked on and Cyrus's voice filled the flight deck. "Zero! You have new orders!" Cyrus barked.

Zero bolted upright and fell backwards on his reclined pilot's seat. "Yes, sir," he said, struggling to get back to his feet.

"Your new orders are to destroy Altomare."

Zero's eyes widened. He wanted to rule over the Reverse World, not destroy this world. "B…But Cyrus sir, that is madness!"

"Madness? Madness! THIS. IS. THE. DAWN. OF. A. NEW. AGE!" Cyrus thundered.

Zero sighed as he cut the radio transmission. He heard about what Cyrus wanted; a world without emotion and turmoil; a world where he was Arceus. He radioed the nearest Team Rocket airship. "Rocket Seven, this is the Megarig. Requesting bombardment of Altomare. Over."

The radio crackled for a moment before Rocket Seven responded. "Copy that. We are en route. Estimated transit time, eighteen hours. Rocket Seven out."

Zero sighed. Eighteen hours was a very long time to wait but airships were slow and the Megarig was no exception. Luckily, the hover skiffs could exceed speeds of four hundred miles per hour thanks to their light weight and extremely powerful engines. He leaned back in his pilot's chair and fell asleep again.

* * *

James and Palkia had arrived at a very nice looking hotel that overlooked the town square. To their surprise, the entrance was almost completely blocked off with paparazzi and curious onlookers – human and pokémon.

James shoved his way through the crowd and entered the equally crowded lobby. The lobby was very ornate, with beautiful bronze and marble statues – which he recognized as Palkia's work. An ornate crystal chandelier illuminated the lobby. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's Cynthia!" a black haired man said. "And she's staying at Altomare!"

Suddenly, someone shouted. "It's Palkia!"

James sighed and made his way to the front desk.

In the meantime, Palkia was mobbed by a crowd of adoring fans. He tried to make his way to the front desk but the crowd hounded him for autographs, which he was happy to oblige.

The crowd's attention was soon drawn by the arrival of Cynthia and her Garchomp. Palkia managed to make his way to where the James was waiting by the elevator.

"I got us two rooms," James said, handing a key to Palkia.

Palkia nodded and stuck the key in his bag. As he did so, the elevators arrived, thankfully they were empty. The two were silent as they rode the elevator to the fifth floor.

They then entered their rooms – room 504 for James and his pokémon and room 502 for Lugia and Palkia.

Palkia entered his room and admired the surroundings. Two beds rested against the wall, a flat screen TV was inside a combination dresser-wardrobe-entertainment console that was fashioned of some kind of red wood. A black mini fridge sat in the corner. He had to chuckle as he saw the "Dialga blue" carpeting. Several reproductions of Lugia's artwork decorated the walls. He decided to examine the bathroom. It looked exactly like the bathroom in the Hall of Origins, right down to the glassy "Giratina black" tiles on the floor and the "Arceus white" tiles on the wall.

Palkia suddenly remembered that he was holding Lugia. He grabbed the luxury ball and tossed it on the floor. Lugia appeared in a flash of bright white light. He was scowling at Palkia.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad was it?" Palkia asked, placing his messenger bag on the helpfully provided luggage stand.

"Not bad huh? I just pissed myself in front of practically everyone on the ferry!" Lugia replied.

Palkia shrugged. "Well, that'll teach you not to sleep without a diaper on," he replied.

Lugia glared at Palkia. "Yeah, wear a diaper in front of a hundred people, that'll go over REAL well," he said bitterly.

"Your call," Palkia said. He then sniffed the air. "And take a bath, you smell!"

Lugia said nothing but entered the bathroom and slammed the door. Soon the sound of running water was heard.

Palkia turned on the TV and lay down on the bed. He was channel surfing until he happened upon the "Battle Frontier Channel". The "reverse pokémon battle" happened to be the program that was playing.

"And here in the red corner is challenger Lucas hailing from Sinnoh! Commanded by Imperator, the Empoleon!" the announcer boomed.

The crowd cheered.

"And in the blue corner is Hoenn's very own Brendan! Commanded by Brimspark, the Blaziken!"

The crowd cheered even louder. The camera zoomed in on the two who met in the middle of the arena. Both of them were shirtless and wore light fingerless gloves in addition to light athletic shorts – red for Lucas and blue for Brendan.

"Now remember, no biting, eye gouging, below the belt hits, hitting the throat or back of the head or stomping or kicking a downed opponent. Other than that, everything is fair game! Now shake hands and come out fighting!" the referee said.

All of a sudden, Brimspark yelled "Brendan! Go in for a Low Kick and a pin!"

"Lucas! Keep him at a distance with your Comet Punch!" Imperator shouted. Thanks to the miracle of computer technology, the pokémon "commanders" were able to speak English.

Almost immediately, Brendan circled around Lucas, deftly dodging Lucas's fists.

Palkia yawned as he heard Imperator order Lucas to use Feint.

All of a sudden, Lugia came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"What do you have to hide?" Palkia asked.

"Nothing, it's just a habit I picked up," Lugia replied. He watched as Brendan approached Lucas to try and take him down only to get a knee to the chest for his efforts. "Nice Counter."

Palkia then went up to the mini fridge and retrieved the two complementary bottles of beer. "Beer?" he asked, offering a bottle to Lugia.

Lugia took the bottle and unscrewed the cap as Palkia did the same. They then toasted each other and took a sip.

"Mm. This is actually pretty good beer," Palkia said.

Lugia screwed up his face and swallowed his mouthful. "You're kidding right? This tastes like Giratina!" he replied.

Palkia made a strange face. "What does he taste like?" he asked, finishing off his beer.

"Musty, with a hint of bitterness and a slightly spicy tang."

"How do you-never mind! I don't want to know!" Palkia said, tossing the empty beer bottle into the recycling bin and finishing off Lugia's beer as he entered the bathroom and shut the door. He heard the sound of water running as Lugia tried to wash his mouth out.

By now Brendan and Lucas were both trying to choke each other out and their pokémon "commanders" were busy shouting encouragement.

All of a sudden, there was someone knocking on the door. "Lugia, Palkia we're heading to dinner!" James said.

"Coming!" Palkia replied, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder and turning off the TV.

Lugia whipped the towel off and tossed it on the bathroom floor. He grabbed his own messenger bag and opened the door. Outside, James and his pokémon were gathered.

"So what do you want for dinner?" James asked.

"How about seafood? Altomare's very famous for its seafood dishes," Lugia said.

"Fine by me."

"Why not?" Wukong said.

"Blech," Ferrum added.

"Oh, don't be a killjoy! Seafood is so delicious!" Quartzon chirped.

Ferrum rolled his eyes.

As James, Palkia and Lugia headed down to the elevator. Cynthia and her Garchomp emerged from the nearby stairwell. Both of them carried a suitcase containing their belongings.

"Never thought we'd get through that crowd," Cynthia said.

"You're telling me," Garchomp added. Even though they were out of Palkia and Lugia's translation field, she could still speak English thanks to her trainer's lessons. But for some odd reason, Garchomp had a very sexy Spanish accent. She then turned to Cynthia. "And what about tonight's activities?" she said, caressing her trainer's face with a claw.

Cynthia grinned; she understood what her Garchomp meant. "Yes dear, we'll try something new," she said.

"Good girl," Garchomp cooed, giving the Sinnoh champion a peck on the cheek.

Cynthia unlocked the door and the two entered the hotel room and shut the door.

* * *

Palkia, Lugia, James and his pokémon were in the lobby of the hotel. Thankfully the crowd had thinned. Outside, it was nighttime but the city square was still active.

James was leading the group with his pokémon alongside him.

They passed by several people enjoying pastries or coffee in open air coffee houses.

As they turned down a side street, they stopped in front of a bland looking restaurant. The wooden sign mounted above the door read "Carvanha Café". It was illuminated by the warm glow of incandescent lighting and the sign depicted a Carvanha taking a bite out of the name.

They then entered the restaurant and were met by a waiter dressed in a suit. "Hello, how many are in your party?" he asked pleasantly. The interior was dimly lit and decorated in a style evocative of a old time sailing ship with lots of wood. To further up the "ship atmosphere", a live band in the back were playing some sea shanties.

"Three people and three pokémon," James replied.

The waiter gave the group a strange look. "I only see one person," he said.

"True but there are also two Legendaries, Palkia and Lugia."

"Ah yes, sorry about that, three people and three Pokémon. Please follow me," the waiter said. He then led the group to a table next to a window. The view outside was that of the ocean.

The waiter placed a large bowl of pokémon food on the ground near Wukong, Ferrum and Quartzon and handed menus to Lugia, Palkia and James.

Wukong picked up one of the morsels and eyed it warily. "Gross," he said.

Ferrum was busy devouring the food. "This is delicious!" he said.

Wukong rolled his eyes. "Says the bird who eats roadkill," he muttered

"Fu-"

"Ferrum, don't swear in front of Quartzon," James said, looking down from his menu.

After several minutes, Palkia, Lugia and James were finished ordering.

"So what do you plan to do later?" James asked.

Lugia shrugged. "Probably watch some TV and go to sleep. We can explore tomorrow," he said.

Palkia nodded. "I'll probably be working on my sculpture," he said.

Lugia coughed on the glass of water he was sipping. "You bought your sculpture studio with you?" he asked.

"Why not? I can control space itself! Watch!" Palkia then drained his glass of water, took the basket of bread and to everyone's shock, crammed the entire basket into the glass. He then tipped the glass over and the basket popped back out. Several other patrons clapped at the display of spacial mastery.

"Very nice, can you do that with living things?" Ferrum asked.

Palkia shook his head. "No, it would kill them," he replied.

"Exactly my point."

"Ferrum, the best use of force is when it is applied judiciously," Wukong said, helping himself to a piece of bread. He had not touched the pokémon food.

Soon, the food arrived; Palkia had ordered a basic seafood pasta, Lugia had a broiled Whiscash and James had seafood stew. And James had ordered some extra bread for Wukong.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the _Hikokyu II's_ holding cell, baby Arceus was playing tag with Mew, Celebi and Jirachi.

"Tag, you're it!" Mew chirped as he teleported and tagged Celebi.

Celebi laughed and chased after Mew, who teleported around the room trying to avoid her.

Arceus landed on Dialga's head to take a breather.

"ARCEUS! GET OFF MY HEAD!" Dialga said.

"Your fault for turning Arceus back into a baby," Latias said, breaking off a passionate kiss from her brother.

Entei groaned and turned away from the couple. He may have disapproved of them having attractions for each other but he was not going to be rude about it. Raikou made gagging noises as he watched the two engage in passionate kissing. Suicune rolled her eyes and lay down to sleep.

Shaymin on the other hand was screaming profanity after profanity after profanity.

"Let me guess; she didn't have her drink today did she?" Heatran said with a sigh.

"I believe that is correct. Shaymin's behavior becomes…shall we say, inappropriate, after approximately five hours without alcohol intake. It has been almost twelve hours since she last imbibed," Uxie said.

"WHEN WILL ARCEUS RETURN TO NORMAL?" Dialga asked. Arceus was still on his head.

"In approximately two hours."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly Mew teleported into Arceus, knocking her off her perch and sending her tumbling to the ground.

Mew looked on in horror as he saw the baby Alpha pokémon fall towards the hard steel floor. He quickly teleported down and tried to catch her only to watch as she crashed into the steel floor in front of him.

Almost immediately, everyone in the cell was rewarded with the sound of Arceus crying.

Latias broke off yet another kiss from her brother and went up to the crying Alpha pokémon. She gently picked up Arceus and rocked her in an attempt to soothe her.

Arceus cooed and nuzzled Latias. "Auntie Latias!" she chirped.

Latias's eyes widened; "Auntie Latias" was a term that Bianca's younger sister used to refer to Latias. Latias held back tears as she recalled what happened to her.

* * *

**Altomare Medical Center, Three years ago**

Latias, Bianca and Lorenzo were in the waiting room just outside the intensive care unit at Altomare Medical Center. They had arrived as quickly as possible after the news had hit them: Maria – Bianca's younger sister – had crashed her water chariot during the annual Altomare Water Pokémon Race. Lorenzo nervously glanced at his watch while Bianca and Latias looked at each other.

After what seemed like hours, the doctor and his team of assistants came out into the waiting room.

"Mr. Vongole, Ms. Vongole, Latias, can you please come in?" the doctor said.

Latias's golden eyes shimmered with tears; she had watched enough medical dramas – much to the dismay of her "father", Lorenzo – to know what was going to happen next.

"Will she be all right?" Bianca asked.

"We are trying our best but so far, the prognosis looks grim. If – and that's a big 'if' –she survives, she could probably be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of her life," the doctor said.

Bianca's eyes widened at the prospect that she might lose her younger sister. "N…no!" she said.

Latias closed her eyes, trying to stem the flow of tears from them. "Why? Why must Giratina do this!" she shouted.

Maria died that night. She was only sixteen.

* * *

"Latias, are you okay?" Giratina asked, noticing that Latias seemed to be staring off in space.

Latias shook her head. She was no longer inside the intensive care unit of Altomare Medical Center but inside the holding cell deep within the _Hikokyu II_. "F…fine," she said.

"Are you sure? You were staring off in the distance."

"And you dropped Arceus," Rayquaza said, picking up the baby Alpha pokémon, who was now crying, again, and handing her back to Latias.

Latias sighed and tried to rock Arceus to sleep again. All of a sudden, Arceus glowed blue and grew to back to her full size, dragging Latias to the ground and causing her to drop the Alpha pokémon, again.

"Strange. I estimated that only twenty five minutes have elapsed since my last estimate of time for age regression to wear off," Uxie said.

"Well, be thankful that she's okay," Entei said, glaring at Dialga.

Arceus looked around and noticed that she was on top of Latias. "Erm, what happened? All I remember was getting hit by a blue beam," she said. The high, childish voice of Arceus's baby form gradually became a rich alto.

"You got turned into a baby but I believe all effects have been reversed," Latias said. "By the way you made such a cute baby!"

Raikou sniggered while Latios, Registeel, Regice, Regirock and Regigigas all simultaneously facepalmed.

Arceus made a strange face. "Erm, thanks?" she said.

"Thankfully, that's over with," Latios said.

"Aww, who will play tag with us?" Jirachi asked. He, Celebi and Mew were circling above Dialga's head.

"You can play with each other, right?"

"But Arceus is so good! I mean, she is the best to play with!" Mew said.

Arceus grinned. "You know what? I might play again with you sometime. After I get my bottle of milk," she said, her alto voice gradually fading back into the high, childish voice of her baby form.

All the Legendaries, utterly flabbergasted, stared at Arceus. They could barely believe their ears? The "adult" Alpha Pokémon wanting a bottle of milk and to play tag with the three most childish Legendaries?

"Dialga! Fix this disaster! Now!" Giratina shouted as Arceus started crying because no one could get her a bottle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lugia, Palkia, James and his pokémon had finished their dinner and were en route back to the hotel.

When they entered the lobby, the clock read 23:45 and a young man wearing a trucker's cap and accompanied by a biomechanical looking black pokémon and an angelic white pokémon was standing by the front desk.

"One room please," the man said.

The clerk yawned and handed the man his room key after accepting his credit card.

The man and his pokémon headed up the elevator.

"What are those pokémon?" James asked.

"I think the white one's Zekrom and the black one's Reshiram," Lugia said. "Or is it the other way around?"

"We could simply ask them," Palkia said.

"Do that tomorrow," James said with a yawn.

The trio then headed up to the fifth floor and entered their rooms.

* * *

Palkia and Lugia locked the door behind them and tossed their messenger bags onto the luggage stand.

"I'm going to take a bath and go to bed," Lugia said with a yawn.

Palkia shrugged. "Sure, I'll go watch some TV," he said.

Lugia grabbed his messenger bag and entered the bathroom. Soon the sound of running water was heard.

Palkia sat on the bed and turned the TV to the entertainment channel to his surprise, he happened across a live concert music video that featured the duo and their trainer. "Black Yin, White Yang Live at Goldenrod City Arena!" flashed across the screen for a moment. It appeared to be some kind of symphonic metal concert as Zekrom was playing the electric guitar, Reshiram was playing the piano and the man was playing the drums.

Almost immediately, they started playing, the opening bars were a slow, almost mournful piano piece. About thirty seconds in, the piano solo ended and Zekrom jumped in with the electric guitar and Reshiram got up from the piano and started dancing around. Hilariously, a giant black censor bar covered Reshiram's crotch.

Palkia scratched his head. After all, he and the other Legendaries routinely went without clothing – after all he had nothing to hide.

He continued watching the concert until it ended – about forty five minutes later. And Lugia was still not out of the bathroom and he wanted to take a bath.

He got up and opened the unlocked door and found a container of baby powder, a tub of baby wipes and one of Lugia's diapers (this time decorated with a pattern reminiscent of grass) on the counter. And a closed shower curtain. He pulled back the shower curtain and found Lugia taking a bubble bath.

"Hey! Have some decency!" Lugia shouted. He was thankful that the bubbles obscured nearly every detail of his body – not that he had anything to hide.

Palkia chuckled as he sniffed the floral scented bubble bath that Lugia was using. "I can't believe you're taking a bubble bath," he said.

"What's wrong with it? Suicune, Celebi and Articuno do it too."

"Yeah, but they're girls."

"So?"

Palkia decided to change the subject seeing as this would be a mighty awkward conversation. "So can you get out of the bathtub so I can take a shower?" he asked.

Lugia sighed. "Fine, I'll get out, now can you leave?" he said.

Palkia obliged and exited the bathroom.

He got back to watching TV; this time, they were interviewing the man about where he met the two.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Lugia emerged with a towel around his waist.

Palkia chuckled; this time Lugia really did have something to hide. Lugia then got into his bed – the rightmost one – and pulled the covers over himself. He then telekinetically removed the towel and stuck it into the bathroom. He groaned; James was eventually going to find out that he needed diapers eventually and it was going to be a hell of an awkward conversation. In fact, that day may come even sooner than he thought because he only had two diapers left – including the one he was wearing.

Several minutes, later Palkia emerged from the bathroom and got into the leftmost bed. He slid under the covers, enjoying the smooth fabric against his skin. He then shut the TV using his telekinetic abilities. "Good night, Lugia," he said.

"Good night, Pallie," Lugia said, using James's nickname for him. He telekinetically shut the lights.

* * *

Meanwhile, in James's room, which was an exact copy of Lugia and Palkia's room – except the complimentary beer was untouched – Ferrum was snoozing in the corner of the room.

Wukong was practicing some martial arts moves in the middle of the room.

Quartzon was busy playing with the remote control. She accidentally accessed the on-demand menu and purchased a movie called _Riding the Time Stream_, mistaking it for an action-adventure movie.

As soon as the movie was purchased, it began playing, much to Quartzon's interest.

Unfortunately, about ten seconds in, Quartzon was treated to the sight of Dialga – or at least a very realistic computer generated model of him – taking it in the rear from Groudon. And this Groudon appeared to be the real deal.

Quartzon stared at the screen, curiosity growing with every thrust.

Wukong heard the noises and turned towards the TV. His eyes widened and he dashed over and shut the TV off. "Quartzon! You're not supposed to be watching that!" he scolded.

"I didn't know!" she said innocently.

"Quartzon, go into your poké ball, now!"

Quartzon sighed and nudged her poké ball, which was on the computer desk, where she disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Shit, James is going to kill me if he finds out that I 'let' Quartzon watch gay Legendary Pokémon porn," Wukong muttered.

Luckily, James was signing – horribly off-key –Breaking Benjamin's_ Blow Me Away _in the shower, which helped disguise the noise from the movie.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Cynthia's room, Garchomp and her master had unpacked their belongings.

"So exactly what are we going to try?" Cynthia asked. She was totally nude as was Garchomp – who obviously had no clothes.

Garchomp was examining a DVD of _Champ-Chomp IV_. "You'll see," she said, unpacking a portable DVD player.

"Okay, I'm going to take a nap now," Cynthia said.

Garchomp shrugged as she somehow managed to hook up the portable DVD player and load the DVD. "Cynthia, it's ready," she said.

Cynthia got up and sat on the small bench that came with the desk. Garchomp sat next to her master and pressed play.

The two burst into laughter as they watched the actors playing themselves.

"Oh come on, that voice actor doesn't even sound like me!" Garchomp said.

"Really, I don't recall having boobs the size of bowling balls," Cynthia said

Garchomp smirked and placed a claw on Cynthia's chest. "Well, I personally prefer them to be on the small side, bigger isn't always better," she said.

Cynthia kissed her and shut the DVD player. She grabbed a riding crop and handed it to Garchomp. "All right, so shall we begin?" she asked.

Garchomp took the riding crop and nodded. "Lie down on the bed now!" she barked.

Cynthia shook her head; in response, Garchomp swatted her on the buttocks with the crop. Cynthia obediently climbed into bed where upon Garchomp straddled her.

This went on for a few minutes; then it later progressed into full on lesbian, bestial Garchomp sex.

* * *

Meanwhile, Palkia was lying in bed. He was unable to sleep thanks to the noises he heard from the next room.

"Put it in me, girl," Cynthia said. He voice was muffled but still clearly audible.

"Yes, master," Garchomp replied. Her voice was muffled but her alluring Spanish accent still remained.

"No! You're putting it in wrong!"

All of a sudden, there was a sound like someone being spanked and yet more dirty talk from both parties.

Palkia looked at Lugia, who was peacefully asleep and unaware of the in-progress sex session. He got back in bead and covered his head with a pillow in an attempt to block out the noise.

Palkia sighed and turned on the TV; this was going to be a long night.

* * *

Jessie and James languished inside a temporary holding cell at Altomare. The hardened steel floors and reinforced concrete walls stood in stark contrast to the beauty of the rest of the city.

"So now what?" James asked with a sigh.

Jessie reached inside a hole of the tattered mattress. She drew out two small stilettos –more like spikes – that she had made by grinding a piece of loose metal from the bed against the concrete wall and handed one to James, making sure to keep her back to the cell door .

James examined the spike; it was a simple metal rod with one end sharpened into a point. He then tucked the spike into the sleeve of his prison jumpsuit as Jessie did the same.

"So how do we get the guards here?" James asked.

Jessie's eyes fell on the stainless steel toilet attached to the wall and the toilet paper roll nearby. "James, clog the toilet," she ordered.

James tossed the toilet paper roll into the toilet and flushed it. The water ran over the roll without clogging the toilet. "It's not working!" he said.

"Give it a bit of manual aid."

James made a face of revulsion. "What? Stick my hand in there?" he asked.

Jessie frowned. "Do it!" she snarled.

"N…no! Your plan stinks!"

That did it; Jessie whipped out her crude stiletto and brandished it. "Do it or you will feel the bite of cold steel!" she shouted.

James gulped; he had learned the hard way that Jessie was not above using violence. "All right, all right," he said.

He then went over to the toilet and proceeded to carry out Jessie's order.

Suddenly, two Officer Jennies arrived on scene, having been alerted to the disturbance by one of the other prisoners. "You! Drop the weapon!" the first Jenny shouted, leveling a taser at Jessie.

Jessie smirked, knowing full well that she was immune to the effects of an ordinary taser. "Make me," she said, waving the metal spike around.

The first Jenny fired her taser, striking Jessie square in the chest – to no effect. Jessie then started attacking with the metal spike. The Officer Jenny was cut in the face as she tried to wrestle the spike away.

James drew his own spike and charged; the second Jenny fired her taser and struck him in the chest – to no effect. She fumbled for her pepper spray but James tackled her and tried to stab her. The two soon engaged in a ferocious wrestling match, which James lost. He ended up with a face full of pepper spray and handcuffed face down on the cold steel floor.

The second Jenny went to help her comrade who had been stabbed in the neck with the metal spike in the fight. The first Jenny's uniform was ripped as well, revealing the suit of jointed metal plates underneath the uniform that protected her from sharp weapons. Jessie was still fighting, despite suffering from the effects of a face full of pepper spray.

A blind stab with the spike caught the second Jenny in the face. She screamed as the metal spike lodged itself in her face.

James managed to crawl over to the fallen Jenny and steal her keys. He quickly unlocked his handcuffs, which took a fairly long time since he was essentially blind and his hands were behind him but he did it. He kept the keys and headed to the sink to wash his eyes out.

Jessie swore. "James! This wasn't the plan!" she said. "But I guess we have to work with it now."

James nodded and picked up his metal spike and tucked it into the sleeve of his prison jumpsuit.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps off in the distance was heard.

"Shit! We've got to go now!" Jessie said. She picked up the keys and bolted from the cellblock.

James followed, leaving behind an empty cell with two dead Officer Jennies in a pool of their own blood.

* * *

Meanwhile, Meowth was inside a cage at the Altomare Pokémon Control Center. Around him were cages containing various other stray, nuisance or outright dangerous pokémon.

He sighed. What were they going to do to him?

"So now what?" he asked aloud in English.

A cold laugh came from a cage across him. Inside was a Gallade, crouched down and glaring at him. "You wait until someone takes you in with them or you live the rest of your life here," he said in Galladesian.

Meowth's jaw dropped. "You…You understand Humantalk?" he asked.

"Is that what they're calling it now?"

"But I thought I was da only pokémon who understood and spoke dat."

"Guess again," the Gallade said, switching to English.

"So'se what are you in for?"

The Gallade laughed. "Nothing, just that my master's inside the Hoenn Maximum Security Penitentiary," he replied.

Meowth looked cautiously at the Gallade. He knew from first hand that pokémon tended to take traits from their trainer – good or bad. He was beginning to suspect that this Gallade had taken after his serial killer trainer. "What did he do?" he asked.

"He killed someone over a pokémon battle," the Gallade replied.

Meowth was stunned. He had seen plenty of Pokémon trainers who were sore losers. But they usually just screamed profanities or accused the victorious trainer of cheating. "But why?" he asked.

"He lost, duh."

"But you'se tried to stop him, right?"

Gallade laughed. "You're kidding right? That punk cheaped out on him! He deserved to get his head bashed in with a rock!" he said.

Meowth sighed as he listened to the Gallade. "So'se what's yer name?" he asked.

"Galahad. And yours?"

"Just call me Meowth," Meowth said.

With that the conversation ended as Meowth lay in the back corner of the cage and fell asleep.

* * *

Out on the now deserted streets and canals of Altomare, the two grunts dispatched from the Megarig were scanning for any signs of the Legendaries. They were still wearing their oxygen masks, helmets and flight suits.

"Any sign of the Legendaries?" the first grunt asked. Of course, they could only talk and hear each other via radio.

"Negative, but I do see two people running on the street," the second grunt said. She was flying at "street" level. Thanks to the hover skiff's night vision system, which fed information wirelessly to the HUD system in her helmet, she could see that it was Jessie and James. "Move in! It's Jessie and James!" she ordered, heading towards them.

The two other grunts followed Jessie and James.

Thanks to the skiffs' high speed, they easily closed the distance between them.

* * *

"James, do you hear that?" Jessie asked.

"Hear what?" James asked. He could faintly hear the low hum of the antigravity engines used by the skiffs.

"That!"

James turned around and saw the faint outline of three figures, faces concealed by helmets and oxygen masks, riding some sort of hovering vehicle. "What are they?" he shouted.

He and Jessie immediately ran away from them but the mysterious pursuers easily caught them.

"D…don't hurt us!" James pleaded.

The female grunt disembarked her hover skiff and took off her mask and helmet. "We're here to rescue you," she said with a sigh.

"Wait, Zero, sent you?" James asked.

"Yes, now get on!"

"But we need to get Meowth and our pokémon!"

"Forget about them! Get on!"

"Ma'am, I hate to interrupt but we're unarmed and Meowth is a skilled mechanic," Jessie said.

"He speaks English too," James added.

The female grunt sighed. "All right, get on. Once we get you back to the Megarig, we'll search for them," she said. She then radioed Zero. "Zero, bring Megarig down to 10,000 feet," she said. She then turned to the two grunts. "Search for their pokémon!" she ordered.

"Thank you so much," Jessie said.

* * *

Zero blearily rubbed his eyes as he was awakened by the radio. "Infi, bring the ship down to 10,000 feet, rapid descent," he said.

He looked at the map: he was right over Altomare's central plaza. He looked at the altimeter; he was at 20,000 feet and dropping quickly.

* * *

The female grunt rolled her eyes. "Get on and hold on tight," she ordered.

Jessie and James squeezed themselves onto the hover skiff, which was just barely large enough to hold all three of them, and grabbed hold of the small handholds on each side of the central column. With the sound of the engine starting, the skiff sped up into the sky, marking sure to go slow as not to knock the two passengers off.

James gave a squeak of terror as he saw the city recede below him.

* * *

The two other grunts headed to the Altomare Pokémon Control Center. They parked their skiffs in the backlot and entered through an unlocked backdoor.

Luckily, the building was deserted.

They took off their masks but kept their helmets on. They looked around, the building was dimly lit but it was just enough to see by.

Suddenly, one of the grunts turned towards a cage with a Meowth in it. "That him?" he asked.

"Check it out. I'll grab their other pokémon" the other grunt replied. He entered a storage room that was filled with shelves containing assorted poké balls.

The grunt went up to the cage, eliciting a scream of "who the hell are you?" – in English – from the cage.

"Hey Meowth, Jessie and James sent us back here to rescue you," the first grunt said, trying to pick the lock with a small nail he picked off the ground.

"Dat's good but dey okay?" he asked.

"Yeah but what about Galahad?"

"Galahad?" the first grunt asked.

"Yeah, dat Gallade over dere," Meowth replied, pointing at the cage opposite them.

"What's so important about him?"

"He speaks Humantalk."

The grunt shrugged. "I'm sure he can be useful as a translator," he said.

"I'll be much more than that," Galahad said in English. "Just let me join and I'll show you what I can do."

The second grunt returned with Jessie and James's poké balls attached to his belt. "We need to get moving," he said, exiting the building.

"All right," the first grunt replied. He found a small piece of rebar left over from a construction project. He picked it up and used it to pry the locks off the cages.

Galahad and Meowth gratefully left their cages and followed the two grunts outside.

Meowth gazed in wonder at the sleek hover skiff. "Wow, I never seen one of those before," he said.

"Get on," the first grunt said. He climbed on, hooked up his oxygen supply line and harness and started the engine.

Mewoth did so, grabbing the handhold on the central column just as the first grunt donned his oxygen mask.

He then sped off into the night sky.

The second grunt had had already hooked up his oxygen line and harness, started the engine and donned his mask. He was trying to convince Galahad to board the skiff.

Eventually, Galahad acquiesced to riding the skiff and the second grunt flew into the night sky.

Above them in the distance were the red running lights of the Megarig.


	13. Chapter 13: Bombs Fall, Altomare Dies

Chapter 13: Bombs Fall, Altomare Dies

The two hover skiffs gently landed inside the Megarig's hangar and the heavy blast doors slowly slid shut. The two pilots unhooked themselves from the skiffs and quickly connected them to the charging and O2 supply lines.

Jessie, James, Meowth and Galahad stepped off the skiffs and casually leaned against the walls.

"Can we never do dat again?" Meowth asked.

"Where can we change out of these nasty clothes?" Jessie demanded. The dried blood on her prison outfit was starting to make her itch.

The two pilots said nothing but quickly ushered the four to their new room which happened to be an unused armory near the mess hall.

Jessie glared at the four olive green sleeping bags, which took up nearly the entire floor space of the armory. She found this insulting; why did she have to sleep in what was essentially a glorified closet? "This is our bedroom? Pathetic," she snapped.

The first pilot turned to her. "If you don't like it, there's always the utility closet near the fuel pumps," he replied, exiting the room to change out of his flight suit. The fuel pumps in question were large and quite loud centrifugal pumps that pumped pressurized hydrogen into the Megarig's 660 megawatt palladium-hydrogen fusion reactor.

"Erm, it's a very cozy room," Jessie replied with an obviously fake smile. _Anything_ was better than sleeping next to some heavy machinery.

Galahad said nothing as he slid himself into the first sleeping bag.

Meowth was about to go to sleep when the second pilot spoke. "Meowth, we'll need you to perform some basic maintenance on the hover skiffs," he said.

Meowth groaned; he was very tired. "Can't dat wait until tomorrow?" he asked with a yawn.

"You want to capture the Legends right?"

"Yeah but-"

"No maintenance on the hover skiffs equals no Legends captured. Now get to work!"

Meowth sighed and headed over to the hangar with the second pilot in the lead.

Jessie looked around the armory/bedroom. She sighed; all the weapons had been removed from the armory. She was the only one there. Galahad was asleep; James was taking a shower and Meowth had been pressed into service as the mechanic for the Megarig's fleet of hover skiffs

She stripped off her bloody clothing and tossed them in a corner and slid into her sleeping bag.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zero was inside the cramped pilot's quarters and reading a magazine. A screen on the wall currently displayed a scene of Mt. Quena at dusk. The room itself was very bland, just metal walls painted a dull gold color with nothing else on them. A small metal chair, chained to a large metal desk sat opposite the bed, which was chained to the wall. A black blanket covered the bed. Topping off the room's décor was a pale gold carpet.

"Zero, the fuel supplies are low," Infi said. She appeared on the screen, causing the scene to blink out of existence.

Zero tossed the magazine aside. "Set course back to base," he ordered.

"As you wish," Infi replied, blinking out of existence as the mountain scene came back into view.

Zero then sat down on the metal chair and massaged his forehead when Cyrus appeared on the screen.

"Zero, Operation Tsunami is go, deploy your grunts," he ordered.

"Sir, my airship is low on fuel," Zero replied.

"Deploy your grunts and return to base. Cyrus out." Cyrus's face blinked out of existence as the mountain scene returned.

Zero looked at the chronometer on the wall: 0450 hours – 4:50 AM. "Arceus damn it," he muttered.

He then opened the door and sat in the pilot's chair. As he prepared to give his orders, he noticed a newspaper wedged under the console He picked the newspaper and grinned as he read the headline: _Island of the Lost Pokémon Found?_

Zero grinned. "Maybe the Legends are there or maybe it's a myth but it's worth a shot," he muttered. He tucked the newspaper into his pocket.

"Orders, Captain Nuell?" Infi asked, her avatar emerging on the view screen to the right of the sweeping bulletproof windshield. A panoramic view of the black sea was offered. The faint lights of ships could be seen in the distance.

"Set course to the nearest refueling base and prepare the Origin Fighter for launch," Zero ordered.

"As you wish," Infi replied. She had previously been programmed with all the locations of friendly bases that they could land and refuel at.

Zero quickly got up and took the small ladder down to the launch bay of the Origin fighter.

As soon as the hatch at the bottom clicked shut, sirens blared around the ship along with Infi's cool, electronic voice saying, "Alert! Prepare for action!"

* * *

Zero walked quickly through the stainless steel hallway that led to the docking bay where the Origin Fighter was located. He opened the last hatch and climbed down the ladder that led to the Origin Fighter's cockpit.

He sealed the hatch and put on the helmet/oxygen mask and connected it to the port on the console. He felt the cool rush of oxygen flowing across his face as soon he plugged the suit in. The integrated heads-up-display flickered to life, showing the relative airspeed (about zero miles per hour – the Megarig was hovering over Altomare), altitude (10,000 feet) and the location of both hostile and friendly aircraft/pokémon.

Keeping in line with his Giratina-esque flight suit, the helmet was modeled after Giratina's head, right down to the golden crest. The crest was no mere decoration; it was an antenna that allowed him to communicate with the AI units of the Megarig and the Origin Fighter.

As soon as he strapped himself into the pilot's seat, a voice was heard in his radio headset.

"Captain Nuell, I have previously spoken to Infi. The fuel tanks are full and everything has been checked and double-checked," the voice said. It was clearly not Infi's voice for it was masculine and commanding. Not to mention it had an obvious London accent.

Suddenly, the screen next to Zero lit up with the AI's avatar – a relatively young Chinese man with short cropped black hair and dressed in a black flight suit. A set of mirrored wraparound sunglasses covered his eyes.

"Temeraire, could you please leave me alone for a bit?" Zero asked, getting out his newspaper and examining the article.

"As you wish," Temeraire – the Origin Fighter's AI unit – replied, blinking out of existence.

Zero sighed as he read through the newspaper. As he did so, he thought about the AI units his ships had – Infi for the Megarig, Arkady then Temeraire for the Origin Fighter. Oddly enough, he found all of the avatars of the AI units to be undeniably attractive. Hell, he would have probably slept with Infi… if she were real and not the shipboard AI.

He had to admit, as much as Temeraire was intrusive, he was a decent navigator and an absolutely amazing gunner. Arkady – the previous AI – possessed extraordinary navigational and analytical abilities but he was designed for research vessels. Despite the fact that the Origin Fighter was clearly not intended for research, Zero purchased and installed Arkady simply because he was an older model AI and thus cheaper.

Unfortunately, Arkady also had some serious problems. For starters, he was completely incompatible with the Origin Fighter's countermeasures, weapons and shielding system. The other flaw was that he was very independent and had problems following orders. Finally, his thick Turkish accent made it difficult for Zero to understand him.

Luckily, Zero could always override the commands of the AI unit so Arkady's disobedience never caused serious problems. But it made using the autopilot – or for that matter, the entire ship – an absolute nightmare.

Suddenly, the screen blinked to life again and Temeraire's avatar appeared. "Captain Nuell, do you wish to depart now?" he asked.

"Affirmative. Temeraire, initiate reactor start up sequence," Zero said, putting the newspaper into the glove compartment. He heard the dull whine of the centrifugal pumps feeding hydrogen into the Origin Fighter's palladium-hydrogen reactor. Granted, this one produced a mere five megawatts but it was enough to propel the fighter well past the sound barrier and still have enough to power the life support systems.

He then got up to head to the rear of the ship where the bathroom and a single bed were located while he waited for the reactor to warm up.

* * *

James had been taking a shower when the alarm went off. He wrapped a towel around his waist and dashed out of the bathroom.

Several grunts – clad in their trademark black flight suits and helmets – dashed to the hangar.

"What's going on?" he asked. His head was spinning from the recent turn of events.

"General deployment, get your ass to the armory and then to hangar! And change into something decent!" a grunt replied. He tossed a spare flight suit to James, who quickly donned it – not caring that he had exposed himself to practically the entire crew.

* * *

Jessie had been awakened by the alarm and she had already changed into the flight suit. Granted, she spent at least a minute complaining about the alarm before she started changing.

Galahad, on the other hand was already en route to the hangar.

* * *

Soon, the grunts – twenty in total – were queued out outside the ship's armory.

Jessie and James were the last to get weapons. Much to their dismay, the only two weapons left were two .38 caliber semiautomatic pistols.

James sighed as he cleared the pistol and started loading the two magazines that came with it. "Why do we get stuck with the shitty weapons?" he asked.

"Shut up and be happy we actually _got_ some weapons!" Jessie snapped, clearing her pistol.

In about a minute, both of them had loaded their weapons and strapped them to the integrated hip holster on the flight suits. They also had their poké balls – Wobbuffet and Yanmega for Jessie, Carnivine and Mime Jr. for James.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the hangar, Meowth was busy changing the dead battery on a CS-135 "Dragonite" hover skiff. Unlike the smaller CS-624 "Pidgeot" skiffs – which were the entirety of the Megarig's fleet, save for maybe two or three of the "Dragonite" skiffs – the CS-135 was intended for carrying cargo or passengers, thanks to its larger size and wider running board. Unfortunately this came at some costs: The "Pidgeot" skiffs were almost four times faster and could fly higher and for longer periods of time.

Meowth grunted as he hoisted the new battery into the skiff's battery compartment. He was thankful that many of the skiffs had only need for minor maintenance like lubrication or cleaning the connection ports.

"Hey, can you hand me dat tube of dielectric grease?" Meowth asked.

The mechanic, who was checking the oxygen concentrator on a newer model "Pidgeot" hover skiff, tossed the tube of grease to him.

"I said hand it to me, not toss it to me!" Meowth then opened the tube and put some grease on the rubber gasket that protected the battery leads. He then connected the new battery and added a little more grease to ensure a watertight seal between the terminals and the leads. When he was done, he closed the running board of the skiff and locked it.

Suddenly, the rest of the grunts swarmed into the hangar and boarded the skiffs just as the mechanic finished lubricating the last one.

The mechanic slapped a button on the wall that opened up the blast doors, revealing a cloudy and starlit sky. The hangar was soon filled with the steady hum – soon an earsplitting shriek – of twenty hover skiffs starting up and pulling out of the hangar.

As soon as the last skiff exited the hangar, Meowth closed the blast doors.

The mechanic sat on a crate of spare hover skiff batteries. "You know, Meowth, I'm really surprised, your mechanical aptitude is amazing," he said.

Meowth shrugged. "Well, when youse hang around Jessie and James so much, you pick up a few things. I mean, dey really love their giant mechs and those things ain't easy to maintain," he replied.

"In any case, out next agenda is to check the life support systems," the mechanic replied, getting off the crate and exiting the hangar.

Meowth followed him. He desperately wanted to sleep but he doubted the crew was going to let him do so.

* * *

Just as the grunts headed off to Altomare, the silver refueling line retracted from the fuel port on top of the Origin Fighter, spraying a small jet of liquid hydrogen into the air. The heavy black power cable also retracted behind an armored shutter.

The low hum of the Origin Fighter's quad antigravity engines starting up added to the cacophony surrounding the ship from the hover skiffs and the Megarig's own antigravity pods.

With a dull clank, the magnetic seal connecting the Origin Fighter to the Megarig disengaged and the Origin Fighter sped off into the night sky, a sonic boom trailing in its wake.

* * *

The streets and canals of Altomare were totally deserted when the horde of Team Galactic grunts descended upon the city. They were backed up by some smaller and faster airships that had ferried them to the city. Unfortunately, the Megarig was not one of them; as soon as it disgorged its cargo of grunts, it turned around and headed back to a Team Rocket outpost in Hoenn to refuel.

* * *

Bianca and Lorenzo were asleep inside their modest but rather nice, house. A gossamer veil intended for Bianca's upcoming wedding gently fluttered in the saline breeze that floated in from the sea behind them.

Suddenly, there was angry shouting and someone pounding at the door.

Bianca awoke with a start in her bedroom as the pounding continued. She reached for her phone and hastily dialed the police. Just as she finished calling them; she heard the front door break and faint voices. Her heart leapt into her throat, Lorenzo's bedroom was downstairs.

* * *

Lorenzo had locked the door to his bedroom and hid in a small alcove next to the closet. He was glad that he sprung for the toughened lock and reinforced door. A mighty thud shook the door as someone kicked it.

"We know you're in there! Come out and maybe we'll let you go!" a voice shouted.

"Croagunk! Brick Break!" another voice shouted.

The door shuddered under the powerful blow. He looked at the door; the frame around the door was cracking.

"Again! Brick Break!"

Another powerful thud and the door peeked open a bit.

Lorenzo looked around his room for something that he could use as a weapon. The only thing he could find was a chisel left over from when he had worked on a sculpture a few days ago. He slid it into the sleeve of his pajamas.

Another powerful thud and the door tore itself from the frame. Two Galactic grunts – one with a pump-shotgun and a Croagunk and the other with a 9 mm pistol and a Golbat – entered.

The first grunt swept around the room with the tactical light on his shotgun while his Croagunk searched the closet. The Croakgunk spotted Lorenzo and dragged him out from his hiding place.

The second grunt aimed his pistol at Lorenzo. The bright light from the flashlight mounted on the pistol caused him to recoil a bit. "Well, well, if it isn't the famous sculptor, Lorenzo Vongole," he said coldly.

"What do you want?" Lorenzo replied bitterly.

"Where are the other Legends?"

"I don't know!"

The grunt pistol-whipped Lorenzo, cutting his head and knocking him down. "Wrong answer," he said.

Lorenzo held his hand to the deep gash on his head. "I don't know!"

The grunt pistol-whipped him again, leaving another deep gash on his head. "One more chance," he said coldly.

"I said I don't know!" Lorenzo screamed as blood poured down his face from the two head wounds.

The grunt pulled out Bianca's veil from his pocket. "Your daughter's veil? Tell me where the Legends are and I'll tell you where Bianca is," he said with a chuckle.

"What have you done with her!" Lorenzo shouted as anger, adrenaline and dread surged through his veins. He then charged the grunt with speed shocking for someone as old as he was.

The grunt panicked and fired his pistol and missed, shattering the lamp. Suddenly, he saw the flash of steel from Lorenzo's sleeve. "Shoot him! He's got a knife!" he shouted. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He gasped in horror as he looked down; Lorenzo had lodged the razor sharp chisel up to the handle in his chest. He coughed up some blood and collapsed to the floor. He soon became unconscious as pain and shock set in.

The second grunt was busy ransacking the closet for valuables to keep. By the time he had got out the closet, Lorenzo had already stabbed the grunt and was making a break for it.

"Croagunk! Kill him!" the grunt ordered.

Croagunk leapt up into the air and delivered a punishing blow to the back of Lorenzo's head that killed him instantly.

* * *

Two more grunts broke into Bianca's bedroom. They held her at gunpoint while their Croagunk ransacked her room.

"Tell us where the Legends are!" the first grunt demanded, jabbing the muzzle of her rifle into Bianca's gut.

Bianca flinched but said nothing.

"Well then, we'll try another method. And I could always use some enjoyment," the second grunt said, holstering his pistol. He tossed Bianca on her bed and straddled her.

Bianca gasped. Her worst nightmare was about to come true. "No! Someone! Help!" she screamed.

The grunt clamped a hand over her mouth. "No one's coming. Scream all you-argh!"

He suddenly leapt off of the bed as he realized that he had been careless in gagging Bianca and that carelessness cost him his finger. And it was the finger he used most – the middle one.

Bianca took this opportunity to try and bolt from the room but the first grunt killed her with a perfect headshot, spattering the window next to her bed with her brains and blood.

* * *

It was the same story around Altomare. Private citizens were being accosted and usually killed or beaten for refusing to provide whereabouts of the locations of the Legendaries.

Luckily, the Altomare police department was able to respond to some cases rather quickly. On the downside, they were stretched well beyond the breaking point. In fact, the grunts even engaged in shootouts/pokémon battles with the police all across the city.

* * *

Jessie, James, a Galactic grunt and their pokémon were shooting it out with some Altomare police officers in the main square.

James deployed his Carnivine, which immediately proceeded to try and bite him – in spite of the gunshots echoing around. He and the grunts were taking cover behind the Lati statue.

"Carnivine! Bullet Seed!" James shouted. He massaged the sore spot on his arm from where he had been bitten a few weeks ago.

Carnivine fired a volley of brilliant yellow orbs at the attacking Officer Jennies. Fortunately, for them, Carnivine was a bit flustered by the gunshots so the orbs mostly struck the surrounding area, throwing bits of rock into the air. The officers in turn, retaliated with a burst of shotgun and 9 mm rounds. Carnivine suddenly panicked and reentered his poké ball.

One of the officers took a .38 round to the chest as she was reloading her shotgun, courtesy of Jessie but the combination of body armor and adrenaline let her continue reloading and fatally shoot the Galactic grunt's Golbat, which had already killed one of her officers with an Air Cutter.

Yanmega – in contrast to Carnivine – seemed to be enjoying the battle. She flapped her wings, sending a blue wave of concussive force at the attacking officers. The shockwave cracked the stone façade of the fountain that the officers were using for cover but the officers were unharmed. A load of buckshot tore off one of her wings, forcing her to land; Jessie quickly recalled her moments just before a shotgun blast struck where Yanmega lay. In retaliation, James shot the offending officer square in the head, killing her instantly.

Suddenly, Galahad leapt from the rooftop behind the officers with his green psionic sword at the ready. He ran one officer through, the energized blade easily piercing her soft armor vest. Just as the other officer turned, he swung, only for the blade to catch on her shotgun. He just barely missed having his head taken off by a point blank shotgun blast. He fired off a Psycho Cut at the officer's head, cutting it in half. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his legs. He looked down and noticed that a Growlithe had sunk its teeth into his legs. Another one was barking at him to surrender.

"So it's a battle you want?" he sneered in Galladesian.

"Give up!" the Growlithe demanded in Growlithede. This one was apparently male

Galahad laughed. "You wish," he said coldly. Suddenly, he felt like one of his legs had caught fire. He swore profusely – in Galladesian and English – as he looked down and noticed that the Growlithe had used Fire Fang.

"You Arceus-damned fuck!" he screamed, trying to stab the offending Growlithe, who easily dodged it and went in for another physical take down. This time, he was prepared; just as the Growlithe leapt at him; he swung his sword down, instantly bisecting the hapless Growlithe and letting the two halves fall to his sides.

The surviving Growlithe hit him with a Flamethrower, which he dodged by jumping onto a balcony. A single Psycho Cut missed the Growlithe's head but a Flamethrower fired in retaliation grazed his head, lightly burning him. He then leapt down at the Growlithe, his elbow blades glowing. Growlithe easily dodged and sent a torrent of fire at him, which was easily dodged. Galahad then tossed a veritable storm of Psycho Cut attacks at Growlithe. The first green blade struck the Growlithe on the leg, rendering him immobile. The rest of the crescent energy blades reduced him to a bloody paste.

Just as Galahad killed the Growlithe, Jessie and James had killed the two remaining officers but not before the grunt took a shotgun blast to the head causing James to vomit when he realized that he had been splattered with fragments of brain and skull.

* * *

Meanwhile, Galactic grunts swarmed the hotel where James, Palkia and the others were staying.

The receptionist at the desk hit the panic button but one of the grunts shot him multiple times. Not surprisingly, the killer helped herself to the cash in the till. Her Toxicroak rolled its eyes.

Several of the grunts were charging up the stairs and into the elevators.

* * *

Cynthia and her Garchomp were finally asleep – in the same bed. Suddenly, there was the sound of someone hitting the door, which woke Garchomp up.

She gently prodded Cynthia. "Dear, someone's trying to get in," she said.

Cynthia yawned. "Fans?" she asked.

"Open the door or we'll fucking kill you!" the voice demanded.

Garchomp shook her head. "No," she replied.

Cynthia got out of bed and turned the lights on. She was about to put some clothes on when the door came down, revealing a grunt with a 9 mm submachine gun and a Toxicroak.

"Croagunk, deal with the Garchomp. I'll deal with the hottie," he said.

Cynthia smirked. She knew what was going to happen and how she was going to turn the tables on him. "Come get some," she purred in a surprisingly sultry voice.

The grunt practically salivated as he advanced on her. He ignored the sound of breaking glass as Garchomp tossed Toxicroak into a full length mirror.

Cynthia winked at him. "Come on, you know you want it," she said, climbing onto the bed.

The grunt carelessly placed his submachine gun on the nightstand and started stripping off his clothes. When he was fully naked, he straddled Cynthia.

"Kiss me," Cynthia commanded. Her voice suddenly changed from alluring to demanding.

The grunt was shocked at the sudden change in demeanor, yet something forced him to bend closer to the Sinnoh champion.

He then placed his lips on Cynthia's mouth and slid his tongue into her mouth.

Cynthia, taking advantage of the distraction, grabbed his genitals and pulled as hard as she could, at the same time, she clamped her jaws shut, biting off the man's tongue.

The grunt practically shot into the ceiling from the sheer amount of pain he had experienced. He then fell over on the floor clutching his injured manhood and crying in agony as blood streamed from his mouth.

Cynthia chuckled and spat out the bitten-off tongue. "I never said I would be gentle," she said coldly.

She then kicked the grunt in the throat as hard as possible. She listened to the gurgling sounds of the dying Galactic grunt.

The last grunt grabbed her from behind but she simply tossed him over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground. The grunt got back up and approached her again. Cynthia smirked and waited for him to make the first move. The grunt threw a clumsy right hook, which she easily countered by grabbing his arm and practically piledriving him. This time, he stayed down.

Garchomp flashed Cynthia a "thumbs-up" gesture. "Nice Vital Throw or was that a Seismic Toss?" she said, whipping the hapless Croagunk, who was now literally kissing her feet.

"So now what?" Cynthia asked.

Garchomp grabbed her brown fedora hanging from the closet doorknob and donned it. Despite not actually having fingers, she could manipulate things surprisingly well with just her two hand-claws. "Help the others," she said.

Cynthia chuckled a bit. "You really like that hat, don't you?" she said.

Garchomp nodded. "It goes well with my whip. Like that Montana Jack guy. Speaking of which, you'd look hot as a Garchomp," she replied, flicking the whip at the Toxicroak one last time before she plunged a claw into its skull, killing it instantly.

"Indiana Jones. And look, I want to cosplay as a Garchomp as much as you do but those top-of-the-line costumes cost more than my house!"

The costumes that Cynthia was referring to were the 2021 series costumes made by Zekurom Industries. They were highly sophisticated pieces of equipment that essentially turned the wearer into a pokémon – they could eat, drink, walk, or even sleep in the costume. But the best feature was that they use and learn attacks as if they were actually that pokémon and that included full compatibility with technical machines – despite the fact that Silph Co. expressly warned about using their TMs in such a manner. Owning to the amount of technology (especially the miniaturized palladium-hydrogen fusion reactor – usually used aboard research vessels where high output was needed but space was at a premium) and labor required for each costume, they were exceedingly expensive. Consequently, most of them were owned by companies that would rent them out to paying customers. They were also popular in so-called "poké domes" where customers would pay good cash for the chance to enter a pokémon battle or a contest – as themselves. Some more hardcore (or rich) customers would spend a week or so as a pokémon, complete with a "trainer". And of course, like any other technology, it has been put to…unclean uses, although Zekurom Industries officially denies such uses.

Not to mention, the attacks were actually as _lethal_ as the real thing so licensing was an issue.

Garchomp sighed. "Let's just go save the others," she said, heading out of the room. Cynthia took a moment to put some clothes on before she followed.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Lugia and Palkia's room, Palkia had been awakened by profanities and the occasional gunshots that echoed through the hotel. Lugia slept through it all, not surprisingly.

Suddenly, a heavy impact shook the door.

Palkia then squeezed himself into the wardrobe and telekinetically closed the door. Two heavy thuds echoed through the room – one from something striking the door and the other from the door falling off its hinges.

* * *

Lugia was dreaming about how much he wanted Dialga's steely body when he heard the door fall off its hinges and shouting and occasional gunshots in the hallways.

He blinked his eyes as the lights in his room turned on. He suddenly noticed that he was staring down the barrel of a bazooka. Two more grunts were ransacking the room.

The shock of a large caliber weapon inches from his face caused Lugia to flood his already soaked diaper. To his horror, the diaper leaked, causing him to whimper and squirm in a manner most unbefitting of a Legendary. To further add to the humiliation, the bazooka-wielding grunt fired only moments later, catching him between two swirling energy rings tethered to the bazooka. The two grunts wrestled with the energy cage until they got it on the floor.

"What's going on?" Lugia demanded. He would not let these thugs know that they made him lose control of his bladder. But the fact that he was trying to cover himself with the blanket said otherwise.

"Hey, get that blanket out!" the bazooka toting grunt demanded.

One of the grunts used an insulated metal hook to pull the blanket away. Lugia tried to pull the blanket back but the energy cage sapped his strength. The grunt tossed the blanket aside and turned back to Lugia. He suddenly burst out laughing.

"Arceus-damn it, what is so funny!" the bazooka toting grunt demanded, placing the bazooka/power source on the ground and turning to face the captive Lugia. As soon as he saw it, he too burst out laughing.

Soon, all three grunts were laughing themselves silly at sight of Lugia in a drenched and very saggy diaper – complete with "cute" gracidea flower designs. They were laughing so hard that they could not even hold their weapons properly, let alone use them.

Unfortunately, Lugia was paralyzed by the embarrassment of being caught in a used diaper – and the energy cage. He tried to cover himself with his hands but his body refused to obey, so all he could do while he was exposed was blush furiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pink and white burst from the wardrobe.

Suddenly, one grunt's head rolled against the nightstand, seven feet away lay his decapitated body. The second grunt was bisected and the third grunt was still alive but his entrails were hanging out of a large gash on his stomach.

There was a crackling sound as Palkia hit the energy cage with his Spacial Rend sword. Two more blows and the energy rings snapped, allowing Lugia to tumble to the ground. Thankfully, his diaper did not burst from the fall; he shuddered at the last time that happened; who knew Jirachi could swear like Shaymin?

Palkia turned to Lugia. "We'd better see if James is okay," he said. He then offhandedly "threw" his sword, cutting the eviscerated but still living grunt in two. The glowing pink blade lodged itself in the wall for a moment before it disappeared and reappeared in his hands.

"Can't I clean up first?" Lugia whined as he got back to his feet. As much as he did not mind wearing diapers – hell, he actually started to enjoy wearing them – he hated using them.

"No time!" Palkia then tossed Lugia a towel hanging from the closet doorknob, which he wrapped around his waist. Palkia then fetched the messenger bags and tossed them over his shoulder.

_Palkia must want me to suffer. Why else would he take my bag and its changing supplies_? Lugia thought.

"Come on you leaky Legendary!" Palkia shouted.

"Don't call me that!" Lugia shouted. _Yeah_. _Palkia wants me to suffer_, he thought. He then headed out of the room, his wet diaper clinging uncomfortably to his nether regions. He hoped he could change soon; he hated getting diaper rash.

* * *

Meanwhile, Reshiram and the drummer of Black Yin, White Yang were asleep in their rooms when three grunts and their pokémon broke in. Zekrom, who was sitting in the recliner with a beer in hand and with feet resting on a case of twenty four bottles, was surrounded by at least seven discarded beer bottles. Zekrom belched loudly as another bottle was drained.

Suddenly, the grunts burst in and started shouting. Zekrom threw the beer bottle in hand at the grunt, knocking him out. The other grunts turned to Zekrom and fired. The small caliber bullets merely pinged off Zekrom's armored hands and a bright blue flash filled the room as one of the grunts was instantly killed by a Thunderbolt attack. A single gunshot was heard and the sole living grunt looked down at her chest to see a gaping exit wound. Two more gunshots and two more gaping holes appeared in her chest. She collapsed in a pool of her own blood, revealing the shooter: the drummer, who was sitting up in bed with a Veekun Arms Close Combat .45 semiautomatic pistol in hand.

"Everyone okay?" he asked, grabbing his backpack but keeping his pistol out. He was completely naked but Reshiram and Zekrom paid him no heed.

Reshiram and Zekrom nodded as they grabbed their luggage and headed out the door with the drummer behind them – after he had put on some clothes.

* * *

James, Quartzon, Wukong and Ferrum were inside their room. Their room was in horrible shape with puddles of water, spent cartridge casings and blood all over the floor. The bed and couch were reduced to soaking wet piles of burnt wood. The window next to the bed had been smashed – apparently by the nightstand. The TV, the full length mirror and a grunt each had one of James's E-tools lodged in them. The bathroom door had been torn off its hinges, revealing the ravaged bathroom. The mirror was shattered, the sink's smashed taps were dripping water on the floor and dead grunt lay headfirst in the smashed toilet.

The minifridge in the living area was on top of another dead grunt. The last grunt lay in two neat pieces by the closet door – also in two pieces – courtesy of Quartzon's Aqua Laser attack (a very lethal and competition banned variant of Water Gun). Another decapitated grunt lay in a pool of blood near the recliner, which had three very deep gashes in the upholstery. Finally, bullet holes were scattered all over the room.

"I guess we survived," Quartzon said. She was still shaking from the battle.

James said nothing as he tried to catch his breath and control his trembling hands. The E-tool he was holding in a death grip still had bits of Toxicroak brain on its head. A nearly headless Toxicroak carcass was at his feet.

Ferrum preened himself, trying to get as much blood and upholstery off his steely feathers as possible. He made a mental note to have James buff out the scuffs and dents from where the grunts' bullets had struck him. "Where are Palkia and Lugia?" he asked.

Wukong retrieved James's E-tools and handed them back to him. James wiped the E-tool that had been lodged in the grunt on a scrap of ruined blanket. He placed the other E-tools back into his messenger bag.

"We should look for the two," James said, heart pounding and hand still wrapped around the E-tool with bits of Toxicroak on it.

"No need," Palkia said, entering the room with his Spacial Rend sword at the ready. Lugia entered moments after him.

"Good, let's get out of here."

James returned Quartzon and Ferrum and followed Palkia down the halls.

* * *

When they got into the completely totaled lobby, they literally ran into Cynthia and Garchomp.

"Pardon me," Cynthia said, picking herself up and dusting off her black jacket.

Garchomp eyed Lugia's towel and wondered what he had to hide. She decided to keep it to herself and readjust her fedora.

"Is there a problem?" Lugia asked when he noticed Garchomp staring at his towel.

"Nothing," Garchomp replied, averting her gaze and sitting on an overturned couch.

James said nothing but sat on a chair – or what was left of it. "So what's our next move?" he asked.

"Get the fuck out of here?" Palkia suggested. He had "sheathed" his sword when he sat down on the dusty floor.

Zekrom, Reshiram and the drummer emerged from the nearby stairwell. Compared to the completely trashed lobby and the somewhat ragged appearances of Cynthia and everyone else in the room, they looked positively immaculate. Well, except for the fact that Zekrom smelled like stale beer.

"Hey, this all the survivors?" the drummer asked, keeping his pistol at the ready but lowered.

Palkia, not trusting this man, "drew" his Spacial Rend sword, the pink energy blade flaring to life with the hiss and crackle of ionized air. "Who wants to know?" he asked.

"Arceus-damn it! I thought you'd all recognize me, Johnny Mac, the drummer of Black Yin, White Yang!" the man said, exasperation audible in his voice. He holstered his pistol and looked around. "Since it looks like we're in this together, let's introduce ourselves," he said.

"Uh sorry, Johnny Mac, I didn't recognize you with a shirt on. But I'm Palkia. The pokémon next to me is Lugia. The guy with the Infernape – named Wukong – is James Elison. And-"

"Hold off on intros for now," Garchomp replied, cutting Palkia off. "We need to get out of here, now!"

Johnny Mac's jaw dropped as he stared at her in shock. "Wait, what?" he asked. "A talking Garchomp? With a Spanish accent? Wearing a brown fedora and carrying a whip! But my last gracidea joint was twelve hours ago!"

Garchomp rolled her eyes. "Yes, I talk, thanks to Cynthia's lessons. But we need to get out!"

Johnny Mac facepalmed.

"Dude, cover up," Lugia said. He was obviously referring to Reshiram.

Reshiram said something in Isshuese.

"Lugia!" Palkia shouted. He was mortified that Lugia would say something like that.

"What?" Lugia countered. "I don't want to have to constantly see a feather-cock!"

Reshiram, evidently offended, went up to Lugia, grabbed his towel and swiftly pulled it off. Zekrom facepalmed at Reshiram's inappropriate conduct.

Lugia turned bright red and tried to cover himself with a cushion he snatched from the ruined sofa but it was too late. Everyone had gotten an eyeful of "diaper Lugia".

James facepalmed but at the same time he tried very hard not to burst out laughing. He reminded himself that what Lugia did was not his business. Cynthia, Garchomp, Reshiram, Zekrom and Johnny Mac were laughing hysterically. Palkia was trying to keep a neutral expression.

Lugia glowered at everyone. "Stop laughing!" he demanded. He then telekinetically snatched his bag from Palkia's shoulder and went into the nearby bathroom to change.

"Uh, Palkia, why does Lugia wear diapers?" James asked when he heard the bathroom door click shut.

Palkia beckoned James to come closer, which he did. "I'm not supposed to tell you this," he said, "but Lugia has a bit of a bedwetting problem."

More snickers from the rest of the crowd. Even in shrunken form, Palkia's voice was very loud.

James shrugged. "Okay," he replied.

"I can't believe this," Cynthia said, wiping a tear away from her eye. "A diapered Legendary!"

When Lugia returned, the laughter had finally died down. Granted, Garchomp had to stifle a giggle when she realized that Lugia now smelt like baby powder.

He then sat on another ruined couch. "What is wrong with Reshiram? Did she really need to expose me to everyone?" Lugia asked.

Reshiram said something in Isshuese, which Johnny Mac swiftly translated. "Reshiram is male and does not like to be referred to as a female. Please do not do that again," he said.

Lugia nodded. "Well, at least Zekrom's a pretty decent guy," he said.

"I am not a he!" Zekrom shouted in Isshuese.

Johnny Mac turned to Lugia. "Zekrom's not a male," he said.

Suddenly a Galactic Grunt appeared from behind what was left of the breakfast bar. Just as quickly as he appeared, three Flamethrowers, an Aeroblast, a Thunderbolt, the Spacial Rend sword and a hail of .45 caliber bullets went towards him, reducing him to little more than a pile of ash.

Johnny Mac holstered his now empty pistol. "Well, let's get-" a bullet whizzed by his head, cutting him off midsentence. Before anyone else could react, the grunt was thrown against the stone counter as a shimmering green orb exploded near him.

"Do any of you know Energy Ball?" James asked.

"That was me," Johnny Mac replied, his hands were wreathed in a faint green light.

Everyone stared at him. The only sounds audible were the faint pops of distant gunfire.

"Yeah, I'm one of the rare psychic type humans," he replied nonchalantly as everyone stared at him. "And about the Energy Ball… Let's just say sticking my head into a TM player was a _very_ bad idea."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Wukong asked. Of course, Johnny Mac did not understand him.

"Palkia, translation field, please," James said.

Palkia nodded and his eyes flashed blue for a moment. "Mac, can you understand Wukong?" he asked.

Johnny Mac nodded as Wukong asked him some questions. "Yeah," he replied. "Damn it, Wukong! Stop asking me why I decided to stick my head into a TM player! I told you, I was stoned off my balls!"

Wukong, satisfied with the explanation nodded. "All right, we need to formulate a plan on how to get out of here," he said.

Palkia looked outside the door and spotted an abandoned CS-624 "Pidgeot" hover skiff leaning against one of the columns, which was riddled with bullet holes. "Let's ride," he said.

"Ride what?" Cynthia asked.

Palkia pointed to the hover skiff.

* * *

The _Hikokyu II_ was slowly cruising to Altomare. At its normal cruising altitude of 45,000 feet, there was nothing except a layer of gossamer clouds illuminated by the rising sun. The effect of this interplay of light and weather was that it looked like the airship was sailing through a sea of gold.

Lawrence III had fallen asleep in the flight deck; luckily, Bosch was doing all the piloting. He was jolted awake as one of the airship commanders spoke.

"Captain Lawrence, we have not found any of the Legends," the commander said via radio.

Lawrence III yawned. "Initiate bombing," he said. He then leaned back in the pilot's chair and fell back asleep. As he did so, he noticed that the damaged antigravity pods were more than half repaired.

He was asleep when a low, growling beep sounded through the flight deck, indicating that the ship had managed to get a radar lock on the two Legendaries. Unfortunately, Bosch decided to use the ship's AGM-82 "Onidrill" radar guided missiles instead of the energy ring capture system (which was currently powered down). And the radar picked up several interceptor aircraft – owned by the Hoenn Air Force at the edge of its range.

* * *

On the belly of the _Hikokyu II_, devoid of any furnishings, save the multiple point defense 20 mm gatling guns; two armored shutters slowly slid back as a mounting containing the two AGM-82 missiles lowered itself into the cold air.

The mounting was unremarkable; just two steel rails mounted to a steel pole and lowered by hydraulics. The mounting swiveled with the groan of gears and the powerful electric motor as Bosch aimed the missiles towards Altomare – nearly twenty five miles away. Luckily, the mounting was capable of swiveling a full 360 degrees.

As soon as the targets were locked on, the missiles flew towards their destination. A few seconds after they flew out of sight, a sonic boom ripped through the air.

The missiles each carried a 270 pound blast-fragmentation warhead, capable of leveling a large building or blasting an Aggron into a pile of bloody rubble.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the _Hikokyu II_'s hold, Charon entered with a tray of food and a pack of cigarettes. The hold was dimly lit by the low white lighting of LED arrays set high in the ceiling. Priceless treasures protected by advanced energy shields were organized around the hold. The low rumble of the pumps feeding the ship's massive five gigawatt palladium-hydrogen reactor echoed through the area.

He then pulled up a chair next to the holding cells, located near the rear of the hold.

The Legendaries inside paid him no heed as they were asleep.

"Erm, if you want food or cigarettes, I have some," he said.

Instantly Shaymin awoke. "Thank Arceus!" she exclaimed.

Arceus – now in her "adult" form – sighed. "Don't thank me," she said with a yawn. Her stomach growled. Technically, she – like the other Legendaries – did not require food but she hated being hungry.

Charon slid the pack of cigarettes and food through the bars. Shaymin greedily opened the pack and pulled out a cigarette and lit off Heatran's body, much to his displeasure.

She took a deep draw and coughed. "Hey! This gracidea cigarette is shit!" she snapped.

"Sorry, it's tobacco. Gracidea isn't allowed aboard this ship."

"Fuck that rule and fuck the captain!"

"Shaymin, please! We should be at least semi-polite to him!" Latios said, flitting around the cell. He was eating a piece of bread with salted Pidgey.

"Fuck you!"

"Look, I'm not supposed to give you _anything_ at all," Charon said, his voice becoming stony and hard. "So if you want food, be nice."

"SHAYMIN, I'M HUNGRY AND SO IS EVERYONE ELSE! SO DO US ALL A FAVOR AND SHUT UP!" Dialga said. He was telekinetically levitating some hunks of salted fish into his mouth.

Shaymin spat the smoldering cigarette onto Dialga, who did not seem to notice.

Charon watched as the Legendaries ate their fill. He knew that he was violating a direct order but starving the prisoners seemed like a direct violation of their rights. And rights overrode orders.

* * *

Outside the Altomare Hotel, the group had managed to get to the hover skiff unseen. They could see swarms of the grunts flying into the sky and returning to their airships. The first rays of sunrise were visible over the horizon.

"Okay, so who knows how to pilot this thing?" Cynthia asked. Next to her were Reshiram, Zekrom, Garchomp and Johnny Mac. She glanced at him and just realized how tall Johnny Mac was; he was a full three inches taller than her Garchomp, who in turn was about three inches taller than she was. She suspected that Mac probably outweighed her Garchomp too. But Mac was not fat; on the contrary, he was quite muscular.

Palkia stepped forward. "I do," he said.

Everyone stared at him.

"But how?" James asked.

"I used to race hover skiffs. I even won a few tournaments," Palkia said. He pulled out a picture from his messenger bag that showed him standing in front of Olivine City's lighthouse with a golden trophy, depicting Ho-Oh soaring into the sky, in hand. The hover skiff he rode in the race was next to him. Interestingly, Palkia was not naked as usual but wearing a one piece pink and white fire retardant racing suit emblazoned with advertisements, which were barely visible in the picture: a patch for the Kantoian pokémon technology (and private military) company Silph Corporation (depicting black two semicircles placed together to form an offset "S" and two black spheres in the hollows of the "S") on his left shoulder; a patch for the Isshuian electronics conglomerate Zekurom Industries (a stylized silver image of Sazandora on a black background) on his right shoulder and a patch of the famed Kantoian small-arms manufacturer Veekun Arms (a stylized assault rifle with a bayonet crossed with the arm blade of a Scyther, forming an "x") on his left breast.

"So why'd you stop?"

"Arceus thought it was unseemly. And yet she's content to let Shaymin get drunk, repeatedly."

"Need I remind you that we're trying to escape a siege!" Garchomp snapped, tapping her whip impatiently against her thigh.

As if to punctuate her point, several thunderous explosions tore through the air as the airships began to pummel the city with a combination of conventional and incendiary bombs.

Palkia got on the skiff and quickly started its engine. He was satisfied to see that its battery was nearly full. He hoped the low roar of the antigravity engine would not attract unwanted attention.

Lugia's psychic abilities suddenly detected something fast approaching them. He immediately used Safeguard, enveloping the group in a shimmering blue force field. Palkia used Protect just milliseconds later, adding a green force field under the green one. Just as soon as he deployed Protect, the AGM-82 "Onidrill" missile crashed right into it. The twin shields easily deflected the hail of shrapnel from the blast-fragmentation warhead but the explosion was another story. While the field kept everyone's innards from being liquefied, the blast still painfully jolted their bones.

When the dust settled, the group found that Lugia's Safeguard had been shattered by the missile. But they had no time to do anything else as the second AGM-82 "Onidrill" missile crashed into Palkia's barrier. Again, the shrapnel was harmlessly deflected but the shockwave – though attenuated – rattled everyone's bones, again. And Palkia's barrier had been shattered by the blast.

"Get on!" Palkia ordered.

James recalled Wukong and climbed aboard the skiff. He grabbed hold of the control column and opened the throttle as the skiff rose slightly into the air.

"What about us!" Johnny Mac demanded. Another explosion was heard in the distance.

"I'll carry you and Cynthia," Lugia offered, kneeling down and quickly growing to full size.

Johnny Mac was stunned. A Legendary was willing to allow himself to be treated as a mount? "Uh, I can't," he said with a blush.

"Shut up and ride!" Garchomp shouted, leaping into the air and straddling Lugia's neck.

"Don't even _think_ of using that whip!" Lugia said.

Garchomp nodded and held the whip as she waited for the others to board.

Johnny Mac still stood by Zekrom and Reshiram. Suddenly, another AGM-82 "Onidrill" missile streaked overhead and detonated a few hundred meters away from them. Luckily, Palkia's Protect managed to disperse the shockwave.

Johnny Mac immediately leapt aboard Lugia's neck. "Take off now!" he shouted.

"Not until our last passenger gets aboard," Lugia replied. He then turned to Cynthia. "Get on board! We only have a few seconds of safety!" he shouted.

Cynthia she clenched her lips and beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as she tried to move forward. Her heart pounded. "I…I can't!" she said.

"Are you afraid of flying or something!" Palkia shouted. He was starting to get nervous as more explosions were heard.

Cynthia may have been the Sinnoh champion but she had a crippling phobia of open-air flight, be it by pokémon, hang glider or hover skiff.

"Leave her!" Johnny Mac shouted.

Garchomp cracked her whip near Mac's head. In reply, he prepared an Energy Ball.

"Mac! Garchomp! Stop!" Lugia shouted.

Johnny Mac and Garchomp began to argue over who started the fight.

"Cynthia! I have an idea but you're not going to like it," Palkia shouted from ten feet off the ground.

"What is it?" Cynthia asked. She was still trying to force herself to board Lugia but her phobia was making it very slow. Not to mention, she felt like her heart was going to explode since it was beating so fast.

"Get inside one of James's poké balls!"

Cynthia's face turned red with rage. "No! I am not getting in one of those things!" she shouted.

"It's either that or get blown to pieces, buried under tons of rubble or burned alive when Altomare gets leveled!" Garchomp countered.

Cynthia sighed. She hated the idea but the steady cadence of nearby explosions reminded her that death was coming closer. In fact, a bomb detonated near her, destroying Palkia's Protect but otherwise leaving everyone else unharmed. "Fine," she grumbled. She stood still, ready for the ball.

* * *

James had his multitool out and was frantically working on a spare luxury ball. He was trying to find the safety and disable it. After a minute of carefully digging around the ball's innards, he found the safety and with two precise snips, cut it out and tossed the small circuit board onto the ground. Just as he put his multitool away, a gust of wind caused him to lose his grip on the ball.

* * *

Garchomp caught the ball. "This is so weird," she muttered. "Poké ball go!" she exclaimed, tossing the ball at her trainer. She felt so corny saying that but it somehow seemed appropriate.

Cynthia then disappeared in a flash of red light as the luxury ball wiggled three times before it stopped.

Lugia telekinetically picked up the luxury ball and tossed it into his bag. "That has got to be so illegal," he muttered.

"It is," Johnny Mac replied. "You can go to jail for a long time and have your trainer's license permanently revoked if you modify a poké ball that way."

"Ready to go!" Garchomp shouted.

Palkia revved the hover skiff's engine and opened its throttle as he rose higher and sped towards the Hoenn mainland, with James trying his hardest to hold onto the control column.

Lugia followed. Of course, Garchomp had to wave her fedora like a cowboy and whoop excitedly when he took off.

Reshiram and Zekrom were the last to take off. Their take-off had to be the more unusual ones. First, they crouched on all fours. Then their tails would charge up – Zekrom's tail-mounted turbogenerator began to slowly rev up with a steadily increasing whine as Reshiram's tail began to glow red, accompanied by a deep roaring noise. After a few seconds of charging up, they would launch themselves into the sky in a prone position, like a classic superhero.

And they did just that, the jet wash from Reshiram's tail was so strong and hot that it actually leveled and melted the already severely battered front portion of the Altomare Hotel. Zekrom's jet wash was no less gentle; it destroyed what Reshiram's jet wash did not. And they both left long trails of scorched ground. Even though the hover skiff and Lugia had a head start, the duo could outrace most jets.

* * *

Soon, the group was over the open ocean en route to the Hoenn mainland. They were just seventy feet above the glassy sea. Some of the Hoenn Air Force's interceptor aircraft had begun to engage the airships and they could see the battle if they looked back.

The formation the group took was rather simple diamond formation with Reshiram and Zekrom at the sides, Palkia at the front and Lugia at the back.

By now, the sun had risen but it was still not fully up yet.

Garchomp was whooping and waving her fedora in the air as she rode on Lugia's back. Johnny Mac was talking to Reshiram and Zekrom.

"Mac, we have three bogies at 6 o'clock," Zekrom said in Isshuese.

"Visual?" Johnny Mac replied. He seemed to find it kind of strange that Zekrom spoke like a stereotypical fighter pilot whenever she flew. Even more strangely, her voice suddenly sounded like she was speaking through a radio.

"Affirmative."

Johnny Mac turned around and saw three grunts on hover skiffs chasing them. What was worse was that all of them appeared to be armed. He reached inside his backpack and grabbed his favorite possession, a Veekun Arms 151 twelve gauge pump shotgun. He carefully grabbed some shotgun shells and carefully slid them into the magazine. As soon as he did so, a pistol bullet barely missed his head. He cocked his shotgun, drew a bead on the erratically moving skiff and fired. The mass of buckshot tore into the skiff's unarmored control column. The grunt frantically tried to regain control but crashed into the ocean.

Garchomp flinched as the shotgun fired; she had never been around firearms before. After all, firearms were uncommon in Sinnoh – probably due to the extreme hassle of trying to apply for a license and a cultural bias that derided firearms as tools for the weak. She held onto her fedora with one claw as she gave the "middle finger" to the remaining grunts.

Johnny Mac pumped his shotgun, sending the smoking shell twirling over Lugia's side. He fired again, merely grazing the second skiff's platform. More bullets went his way. Lugia then used Safeguard to keep his passengers safe. Before Johnny Mac could fire again, a bolt of blue lightning and blast of white fire downed the two hover skiffs – courtesy of the Reshiram and his counterpart.

Johnny Mac quickly put his shotgun away. "So where to now?" he shouted over the roaring wind.

"Hoenn," Palkia replied. He chuckled as he found out that someone installed a radio onto the skiff. He turned it on and was treated to the high energy guitars of _Unchain the Rain _byAltaria.

_A spark of mystery  
The dark discovery  
In your loss my  
Greatest victory_

Palkia sighed as the hover skiff sped over the slowly brightening water. The stakes had risen. He wondered if the ragtag group he had "recruited" could truly stop a madman with the resources and power of what amounted to a small nation.

_Drown your sorrow to my endless sea  
Together we'll unchain the rain  
Escape the light into my sanctuary _

The group sped over the ocean as the sun rose. Behind them lay the burning ruins of the city once known as Hoenn's Sapphire. Up ahead lay Lilycove City's steel and concrete edifices, gleaming gold in the rising sun.


	14. Chapter 14: Show Me Your Navy

Chapter 14: Show Me Your Navy

**Old Ruins - Mystery Island**

Groudon and the rest of the guild (except for Chimecho) were inside the courtyard of the Old Ruins. The skies overhead were crystal clear. In front of them was a massive grey stone ziggurat. Steps cut into the face of the pyramid led to the top, which appeared to be some sort of open air altar. Vines and assorted plants grew all over the temple.

Two weathered statues of Arceus and Altered Forme Giratina flanked the stone steps. Flecks of paint on the statues indicated that they had once been painted their true to life colors. Now the statues were a bland off-white color, marred by occasional streaks of grey, black and green where mildew and moss grew. Worshippers flocking to this temple would have been greeted by the emerald gaze of the Creator of All and the ruby eyes of the Guardian of the Dead. But thieves had long since stolen the precious jewels, leaving nothing behind but four empty holes in the statues.

Around the courtyard were the ruins of the stone walls, overgrown with jungle vines.

"All right, we'll split up. Querc, Loudred, Sunflora, Breaker you come with Guildmaster and myself to explore the courtyard. Groudon, Kyogre, Corphish, Bidoof and Matilda will explore the interior of the temple. Get to it!" Chatot ordered.

Groudon nodded and stood by the stone stairs to the temple. He adjusted the pecha scarf that was around his neck. Team KyGrou's treasure bag was dangling from his shoulder. Both he and Kyogre had shrunken themselves down to about five feet and six inches tall to make exploration easier.

"Everyone ready?" Kyogre asked. A grey defense scarf was around her neck and a pink special band was tied around the base of her tailfin. She no longer wore the blue silk as she realized that it still powered up her water attacks even if it was in her bag.

"Yup! Yup!" Bidoof said.

"Hey! Hey! We came to explore, not to chat!" Corphish said. He was wearing something that can best be described as a canvas bandolier. In it were several silver rods. A defense scarf was tied around his middle head-spike.

Matilda, a slightly overweight and elderly Kanghaskan, nodded. "I've got the tools," she said. Her pouch carried a small hammer, a brush and a pry bar.

"Is she part of our guild?" Kyogre whispered.

"No, she's a local we hired to assist us," Corphish replied.

Groudon said nothing as he donned a set of sunglasses and grinned. "Well, let's rock," he said. His body tingled with excitement.

"Is that a set of x-ray specs?"

Groudon nodded. "Yep, picked them up on the way here," he replied. He smirked as he realized that he now had access to a heads-up display.

No one decided to ask him exactly _where_ he had picked them up.

"Lead the way," Bidoof said.

Groudon nodded and climbed up the steps to the altar at the top with the others behind him.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the altar. The altar at the top was overgrown with jungle vines. Several intricate but weathered carvings could be seen on the remnants of the stone altar. The group had climbed up the south entrance. To the north was an opening that overlooked the massive jungle. To the east and west were two vine curtains.

Matilda was ripping away some of the vines that covered the altar's ruins. To her disappointment, the jewels that once decorated the altar had long since been stolen. She kicked a small piece of rubble off the top. After a few seconds, there was a dull _thud_ and the sound of Breaker screaming profanities at the top of his lungs.

"Nothing," Corphish replied bitterly. He had cut down the west vine curtain only to reveal a blank wall.

Groudon scanned the area. To his surprise, his heads-up display displayed a targeting reticule on the east vines. The words "space detected" appeared in green letters superimposed over the vines. "There's an entrance behind those vines!" he exclaimed pointing to the vine curtain.

"Well, wait are you waiting for? Cut down those vines and let's go!" Matilda shouted.

Corphish's claws glowed white. "Well, let's see how well they stand up to my Guillotine attack!" he said.

"No, no, no. I'll handle this," Groudon said, holding Corphish back. "Go Fire Blast!"

Everyone stood back as Groudon opened his mouth and spat a cruciform fireball at the vines. In seconds, the vines burst into flame and were reduced to a pile of cinders, revealing a dark entrance.

"Well, here we go. Anybody know Flash or got a luminous orb?" Bidoof asked.

"How about we use this?" Matilda suggested, taking a torch off the wall and lighting it off the burning remains of the vines. In seconds, the torch flared to life with a vivid blue flame.

"That works too."

* * *

The group then headed deeper into the temple.

In the courtyard, Querc and Breaker were examining another stone altar near the rear of the temple.

Breaker rubbed his head where the piece of rubble had struck him. "Ugh, no treasure," he groaned.

Querc said nothing but drew a six inch silver blade from a waist sheath. To Breaker, the blade would have been a medium sized knife but to Querc, it was decent sized sword.

He glanced at the hilt of the sword. It was deeply engraved with swirls that coiled up to its hand guard. His gaze shifted up to the blade. It was stamped with a stylized Skarmory tail, showing that it was made from authentic shed Skarmory feathers by the artisans (who incidentally were Skarmory) of Kalin. Knives and swords made from Skarmory feathers were prized for their natural rust resistance and ability to hold a razor sharp edge.

He had been given the sword as a reward for a mission he had completed with Breaker and has since carried it with him. Breaker's own reward – a three foot version of Querc's sword – was inside a room at Kangaskhan Storage.

"Hey Querc! You gonna help me cut away the vines or are you going to stare at your sword!" Breaker shouted. He was busy ripping out some vines that covered the stone altar.

Querc walked over to Breaker and started hacking away at the vines. The finely honed steel blade easily cut through the tough jungle vines, revealing the intricate engravings on the altar.

* * *

Groudon's group was now exploring the inner areas of the temple. They were now inside what seemed to be an area for receiving worshippers. Several stone benches lay scattered in pieces all over the ground. Tattered cloth banners hung from the wall. Several statues smashed beyond recognition lined the hall. The smell of mildew hung in the air. A stone altar was at the front of the room. It too had been smashed to rubble. Several sconces with burnt out torches lined the wall.

As soon as they entered, Matilda took a minute to light the torches.

"Well, let's look for treasure!" Matilda said excitedly.

"Let's see if there's anything worth finding here, first," Groudon said. He scanned over the room. To his surprise, several blue dots played over the various rubble piles. "Yep, there's items buried under that rubble," he said.

"Seems those x-ray specs of yours are more than just a stupid fashion accessory," Kyogre said with a grin. She had to admit Groudon did look rather, well, cool wearing those.

Groudon paid no heed to Kyogre's comment.

Matilda, Corphish and Bidoof whooped excitedly.

"Matilda, Kyogre, check the rubble pile in front of the room. Corphish, check the rubble pile by the west entrance-" Groudon noticed another entrance behind a large mass of rubble. "I'll go check the entrance behind the altar."

The pokémon dispersed to their assigned locations.

* * *

**25,000 feet over the Isshu Sea**

The Origin Fighter soared through the clear skies at a leisurely pace of Mach 1.3. Despite the fact that the Origin Fighter's powerful antigravity engines could propel it to a top speed of about Mach 3.5, Zero decided to conserve fuel. Speaking of him, he was currently scanning the blue seas for any sign of his destination.

Zero suddenly noticed that he was approaching a large island. He looked at his holographic map. He was apparently somewhere between Hoenn and Unova. Suddenly, the map faded and was replaced by Temeraire's avatar.

"Temeraire, what is the meaning of this?" Zero demanded.

"Sorry Captain, but I can no longer receive real time data from satellites nor communications. I will upload a map that has been extrapolated from the most recent data," Temeraire replied.

The AI's avatar faded and was replaced by the new map.

The craft flew over the island, revealing mostly jungles and plains with the occasional small village and ruins.

"Nothing worth looking at this little island," he muttered.

Zero suddenly noticed a large metropolis in the distance. Strangely, it was surrounded by dark clouds even though the rest of the island was sunny. "Or is there?" he said with a smirk.

He set a course for it.

In the process, he flew right over the Old Ruins at supersonic speeds.

* * *

A sonic boom ripped through the air at the Old Ruins.

"What was that?" Querc asked. He had sheathed his blade and was now helping Breaker carry the only legible engraving that they had found underneath the vines.

"Probably a Dragonite flyover," Breaker replied.

* * *

When the Origin Fighter was within a few hundred meters of the city, the skies turned dark and rain lashed his craft. It was raining so hard, that visibility was down to nearly zero.

"Temeraire! Starlight cameras on!" Zero barked.

A monitor to Zero's left blinked to life. The grainy black and white picture showed streets packed with several figures. Several factories in the distance belched black smoke into the sky. Several tacky neon signs on the dingy buildings advertised all sorts of wares.

"Switching to autopilot. Temeraire, prepare for a landing on the city outskirts," Zero ordered.

"As you wish," Temeraire replied.

_Let's see what this city's all about._ Zero thought as the craft continued on its path.

After a few minutes, he arrived at the outskirts of the city, which was home to several warehouses and other industrial buildings. There, directly below him was an abandoned lot, overgrown with weeds. Several rusted pieces of unidentifiable machinery were scattered throughout the plot.

* * *

**Tenebrae City - Mystery Island**

Outside, the Origin Fighter circled and slowed down as Temeraire powered down the main antigravity engines and extended the landing struts, letting gravity and air resistance guide the craft to a gentle landing.

As the craft landed, the whine of its engines steadily died as they shut down. Of course, since restarting the palladium-hydrogen fusion reactor required a large jolt from an external power source, Temeraire made sure to keep the reactor on standby mode. There, it produced enough just enough power to keep the AI and life support systems active.

The hatch on the top of the craft opened with a clank as Zero stepped out into the dingy air. He glanced around; all he saw were several dingy industrial buildings. He adjusted his belt, which he had made sure to put on before exiting the aircraft. In the belt was a Veekun Arms Thunderwave stun pistol on the left holster. His right holster carried a Veekun Arms Close Combat .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol. He had not bothered to take off his flight helmet but he did remove his oxygen mask.

"All right, now to examine the surroundings," he muttered as he climbed down the ladder. His boots sloshed through the puddles of rainwater left on the lot.

The ground view was no less interesting; it was still the same dingy lot he saw from the air. He looked around and found a rusted gate near him. He quickly made his way to the gate and found it unlocked. He quickly opened the gate and stepped out onto the street.

The street was no less dingy than the lot. Grey concrete buildings with dilapidated signs and steel shutters lined the street. Several buildings appeared to be abandoned with signs completely gone and doors and windows covered with large planks of wood. A grey haze of fog and rain blanketed the entire area. The sickly orange-yellow glow of sodium streetlights did little to improve the atmosphere.

_This makes the Fuego Ironworks look nice._ Zero thought as he looked around for signs of life. Granted, the driving rain probably drove them indoors.

As he was walking around the industrial area, he bumped into a metal sign. When he managed to read its words (not an easy task for the sign was severely faded and covered in graffiti), he finally found out where he was.

He was in Lanthae – the industrial section of Tenebrae City.

"Temeraire, this is Captain Nuell, do you copy?" he said into his headset radio.

"This is Temeraire. I copy," Temeraire replied via radio.

"Do you have information on Tenebrae City?"

"Negative. Temeraire out."

Zero swore and hit the metal sign with his gloved fist. He was going to have to explore this city himself.

He turned around and bumped into someone.

"Sorry about that. I guess I shouldn't have standing so close," the stranger said, picking itself off the wet ground and dusting off its coat.

Zero looked at the stranger. Its head was covered by a hood. About the only thing that he knew was that the stranger was a male but at a little over a foot and a half, there was no way it was a human.

"It's okay," Zero said. He was trying his hardest not to let fear creep into his voice but he kept his hand near his pistol.

"You look lost," the stranger said. "May I help you?"

"Sure."

A gust of wind picked up and blew the mysterious stranger's hood back and revealed who he was.

Zero swore that he heard the low whine of electric motors emanating from the stranger as he reached over to put his hood back on but not before Zero got a good look at his face. He was a normal-looking Sableye with dark purple skin and with gemstone eyes – save for his right eye, which was a mechanical implant. The implant's polished silver parts and glowing red pupil stood out in stark contrast to the rest of his face.

Zero's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped – not that it was visible behind his mirrored visor. He had seen talking pokémon before but he could count those times on one hand. And a cybernetic pokémon? That was news to him.

"You planning on staying in Lanthae or do you wanna see Tenebrae City's nicer side?" the Sableye asked.

"Sorry, I got distracted," Zero replied.

He then followed the Sableye through the desolate streets. In the distance, he could see the neon lights of the main city.

After walking through the rain drenched streets of Lanthae, they arrived at the Silica district of Tenebrae City.

Zero looked around in amazement. Around him were towering skyscrapers covered in neon signs and electronic billboards that advertised everything from food to cybernetics. Despite it being billed as Tenebrae City's nicer side, the Silica district seemed to be just as seedy as Lanthae. The faceless mass of people swarmed around him. Most of them were wearing sunglasses – despite the rainy weather. And most of them were dressed in long black trench coats. Zero sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose; the whole area had that distinct "industrial city" funk about it.

He stepped back only to bump into someone else. "Hey watch where you're going!" the stranger snapped.

"Sorry," Zero muttered. He did a double take as he got a good look at the stranger he had bumped into; it was a Metagross.

_What is this place? _Zero thought. His thoughts were interrupted by the Sableye tugging at the sleeve of his flight suit.

"Excuse me, I never got your name," he said.

"Zero," Zero replied.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Monazite."

"Nice to meet you," Zero replied. His stomach growled. "Uh, you know any place I can get some food?"

Monazite's cybernetic eye flashed. "Of course! Follow me!" he said.

Zero then followed Monazite as he darted through the crowded streets. He had nearly lost sight of his Sableye guide several times but he eventually made his way to a warehouse-like building in a dark alley. A battered neon sign flickered above the entrance. Zero's heart sped up as he kept his hand near his pistol. He did not like the atmosphere of the alley.

Monazite opened the door and stepped in. He gestured for Zero to follow.

When he did so, his ears were immediately assaulted with the pounding bass of a high energy techno track. As soon as he recovered from the shock, he glanced around.

The nightclub was lit by the pale blue light of LEDs set high on the ceiling. Fog – courtesy of several Murkrow perched in the corners – revealed multi-colored laser beams lancing across the room and dancing in time to the music. The strobe lights mounted on the Magnezone DJ flashed blue, red and white in time to the music, painting the black walls and the patrons with light. All around him, assorted dark, electric, poison, steel and ghost type pokémon were dancing. And not a single human was to be seen. He decided it would be a bad idea to take off his helmet but his growling stomach made him realize that he cannot eat with the helmet on. Not to mention, he did not want to offend Monazite.

Zero then skirted around the mass of dancers and sat on a stool next to Monazite, who was at the counter. "Nice place," he said.

Monazite was sipping a glass of some vividly glowing blue liquid. "Yeah. Club Giaru's got the best music. And they have great noodles too," he said.

Zero nodded and looked at the menu. It was, surprisingly, understandable to him.

"Excuse me," he said, waving to the cashier.

The cashier in question was an Ampharos in a frilly apron but she had four mechanical arms and a visor with a single scrolling red eye where her eyes would normally be. An antenna protruded from the left side of her visor. One of her arms extended at least three feet to pick up the tip that a customer had left, another arm handed a bottle of beer to Monazite and her two remaining arms were operating the cash register.

"One moment," she said as her arms retracted with a metallic clicking sound not unlike the sound of Origin Fighter's fueling line retracting.

Zero inwardly shuddered. The four armed cyber-Ampharos seriously disturbed him – especially the unblinking cyber-eye. But at least she seemed friendly.

"How may I help you?" she said pleasantly.

Zero flinched; her pleasant tone seemed to make her appearance even more frightening. "Erm, I'll have the fish ball noodles," he said.

"Good choice," Monazite said.

The Ampharos nodded. Zero figured out that his order had been sent via the antenna on the cashier's head.

"It will be a moment," the Ampharos replied. As she walked away to talk to another patron, one of her right arms extended and picked up the empty beer bottle from Monazite.

Zero sighed. This was going to be a rough night. He decided to let the pounding techno distract him from his thoughts.

* * *

_**Hikokyu II**_** -****40,000 feet above Sinnoh**

Inside the _Hikokyu II's _hold,Charon was sitting on a crate. The crate in question used to hold 20 mm autocannon shells but it was now empty and served as a seat.

Shaymin was smoking a cigarette while Jirachi and Mew had decided to repeatedly poke Darkrai, much to his displeasure. Dialga had an unlit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"Jirachi! You're so immature! And Mew! Act your age!" Darkrai shouted as he knocked the two away with a weak Dark Pulse.

"Aww, you're no fun!" Jirachi replied as he floated over to Dialga and reclined on his back.

"JIRACHI! I AM NOT A RECLINER!" Dialga said.

Mew quickly recovered from the attack and joined Jirachi on Dialga's back. Dialga sighed and tried his best to ignore them. At least a catalog from Silph Co. kept him occupied.

"At least Lugia's not here," Jirachi muttered.

Mew, understanding what Jirachi was talking about, started laughing. "Yeah, I don't think they have his, erm… medical supplies," he said, giving a quick glance to Arceus, who was looking at the two. She then resumed cuddling with Giratina.

"Speaking of not here? Where's the Lake Trio and Deoxys?" Cresselia asked, looking up from her old issue of _Alamos Town Weekly _that Charon had procured.

No one could answer the question.

"I can explain," Charon cut in. "They were transferred to another holding cell."

"Why?" Ho-oh asked.

"That is classified but rest assured that they will be well treated."

"Listen shitface, tell us where they are or I will Seed Flare your ass!" Shaymin snarled.

Charon shrugged. "I don't know where they are. But if you want to Seed Flare me, go ahead. The energy shield will protect me but I doubt the others with you will be as lucky," he replied. His face showed no sign of anger as he spoke. His features suddenly softened. "Now that we've got that taken care of, let's just chat," he said.

Latios was reading some old issues of _Champion _that Charon had given him. He was enamored by the beauty of Sinnoh champion Cynthia and former Elite Four member Karen. A slight blush crept across his face.

Suicune, Raikou and Entei were arguing over the appropriateness of accepting favors from Charon. Ho-oh, Celebi and Manaphy were asleep. Regigigas, Deoxys and Heatran were making small talk.

* * *

In a corner of the cell, the Legendary Birds, Latias, Registeel, Regirock, Regice were swapping "war stories" about the times they fought in the Battle Frontier. Surprisingly, they were amiable to taking commands from the trainers and they obeyed them like any trained pokémon, despite being gods.

"So out of curiosity, what was the dirtiest trick you've ever had used against you in the Battle Frontier?" Latias asked. She took a draw from the cigarette she was smoking. Her brother never let her smoke, claiming that she was "too young" to do so. Granted, the tobacco had no effect on her; she did it just to look "cool".

"Well, this one time in the Battle Pyramid, Brandon had me use Hyper Beam on a Sceptile… and that bastard took cover behind the referee!" Regirock said. "I'm surprised they just didn't DQ him right there."

"I once battled a perverted Milotic in the Battle Tower. She did everything possible to creep me out. Needless to say, my trainer was just as grossed out as I was so we didn't win," Articuno said. She shuddered as she recalled some of the vulgar things the Milotic said.

"Eww," Latias said. She ground out her cigarette on the steel floor of the cell. "I once had a Hitmonchan spit in my face then sucker punch me with an Ice Punch."

"I once fought a Zangoose who repeatedly went for groin attacks," Registeel said.

Everyone stared at him.

"Do you even have…" Articuno trailed off, not wanting to finish her question. Her ice blue feathers did a pretty good job of masking the blush on her face.

"Um, anyways, how about we talk about what we liked about our Battle Frontier trainers?" Latias said. Her face was almost as red as the markings on her body; she never expected Articuno to ask something so personal. "Um, Mira is my current trainer in the Battle Tower and I like the way she battles. And her pink hair. And her personality. And her cooking. She makes the best apple Torterra."

Everyone noticed that Latias seemed to have a dreamy look in her eyes and she was grinning idiotically.

"Oh boy. I can just see the hearts floating around her head," Regice said.

Zapdos and Moltres were sniggering like crazy. "Latias has a crush on Mira!" Zapdos said between laughs.

"I…I… do not!" Latias snapped. But her red face and stuttering said it all.

The entire group burst out laughing, leaving poor Latias even redder than before.

* * *

"So this is a _Jirarudan _ class airship?" Mewtwo said. He had to admit, despite being captured and held hostage, it was quite a rare privilege to see one of these airships up close. He then looked around the hold and spotted all the priceless treasures. "Care to tell me about those treasures?" he asked. He paid no heed to the group in the corner.

Charon nodded. "Yes, one of the only six ever made," he said. "As for the treasures, no. I don't know anything about them."

"So what happened to the other five?" Latios asked, glancing up from his magazine.

"The first one – owned by Lawrence III – was lost on Shamouti Island. The second one is sitting in the Mossdeep Air and Space Museum. That airship was formerly owned by the Silph Co. Air Corps. The third one is, well, the one we're in. The others were scrapped after the operation and repair costs became prohibitive. Their successor is the _Kecleon _class airship," Mewtwo replied.

Suddenly, Rayquaza, who had been listening in, spoke up. "Incorrect. The _Kecleon _class airship is not related to the _Jirarudan _class at all. The successor to the _Jirarudan_ class is the _Gablias_ class – currently in use by the Sinnoh Air Force," he said.

"Impressive," Charon said. "Rayquaza, Mewtwo, you certainly know your aviation."

"Well, after hanging around Mossdeep Space Center and the Air and Space Museum so long, you'd expect me to pick up a few things," Rayquaza replied with a toothy grin.

Suddenly, Charon's headset radio beeped. "Ah, sorry, I've got to work my shift in the fusion reactor's control room," he said.

Charon then flicked off the lights and walked over to the elevator. In a few seconds, he stepped inside and the elevator whisked him away to the ship's reactor silo.

"Well, now what?" Mewtwo asked.

"Well, we wait for rescue or something," Heatran replied. He too was smoking a cigarette.

"Like that's going to happen," Shaymin replied morosely, blowing some smoke in the air.

Everyone looked at the energized bars at the front of the cell and sighed.\

* * *

Charon made his way through the sterile stainless steel halls of the ship on his way to the reactor silo. The halls were well lit with banks of cool blue-white LEDs mounted in the ceiling. Several other grunts carrying assorted tools passed by him. He figured that they were headed to one of the three hangars to work on the ship's fleet of hover skiffs.

He finally made his way to a heavy steel door that was labeled with three signs. A keycard reader was next to the door. The top sign read: "Reactor silo". The one below that read "DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE!" The last sign read "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!"

He swiped his ID card and was rewarded with the _thunk _of the electronic lock disengaging. He pushed open the door and stepped through.

In front of Charon was the ship's main power source: a five gigawatt palladium-hydrogen reactor. The reactor in question was a roughly oblong steel capsule standing roughly fifty feet tall with a circumference of about ten feet. Cables and pipes of all sizes protruded from the reactor. A good portion of the circumference was radiation shielding. A protective cage surrounded the entire assembly. A transformer half the size of the reactor took up the entire rear wall. Unlike the larger reactors that powered cities, there were no moving parts; instead, the heat and neutrons emitted from the fusion reaction were converted directly to electricity by an array of high-purity synthetic thunderstones. While this system had a conversion efficiency of upwards of seventy five percent, it was tremendously expensive, accounting for over half the ship's cost. Not to mention the system was very maintenance intensive as the relentless neutron bombardment eventually destroyed the thunderstones by rendering them so brittle that the movement of the airship or their own weight would break them. As a result the array had to be totally replaced every three months. Thankfully, the miracle of poké ball technology had allowed spare arrays to be carried onboard the ship and there was a built in gantry to assist in the process but the undertaking was still an arduous process, requiring the reactor to be shut down.

Charon ignored the nearly deafening rumble of the massive pumps feeding the reactor and circulating the reactor coolant as he made his way to the control room overlooking the silo. The deep buzz of energized high voltage switchgear added to the industrial cacophony.

He opened the door and relieved the woman on duty. She was wearing the same jumpsuit that the other Galactic grunts wore but it had a patch with stylized nucleus on it, indicated that she was trained to monitor fusion reactors.

He shut the door, drenching the room in quiet and sat in the surprisingly comfortable chair. He took a deep breath as he faced the console with its imposing array of dials, switches and monitors.

"Hmm. Converter temperature is in the safe zone. Hydrogen consumption rate is normal. Magnet temperature is in acceptable parameters. Thunderstone converter structural integrity acceptable," he muttered to himself as he wrote down the statistics in the logbook.

* * *

**Northern Lilycove City - Hoenn **

The refugees from Altomare landed at the northern part of Lilycove City. The area was very clean with benches for enjoying the sea breeze. Several stores were located on the waterfront but they were not open yet. The golden rays of the early morning sun bathed the area.

"Well, this is a nice place to kill an hour," James said as he dismounted the hover skiff.

Palkia shut the skiff off and dismounted.

Johnny Mac and Garchomp dismounted Lugia and sat on one of the benches.

Lugia shrank back to his "interaction size" and removed the luxury ball that contained Cynthia. He then tossed it on the ground and the Sinnoh champion reemerged in a flash of blue light.

"So was your ball trip?" Garchomp asked.

"Good. Except why was I in the middle of a large town populated only by pokémon and called Pokémon Square?" Cynthia asked.

No one could answer that question.

After several awkward seconds, James deployed Quartzon, Wukong and Ferrum. "Palkia, translation field," he said.

Palkia's eyes flashed blue for a moment. "Cynthia, Johnny Mac, you can now understand pokémon as long as you are within several hundred meters of myself or Lugia," he said.

"Speaking of which, we should probably all introduce ourselves," Lugia said. "I'm Lugia."

"I am Palkia," Palkia said.

"And I'm Cynthia Shirona. And this is my companion, Garchomp," Cynthia said, gesturing to Garchomp.

Garchomp said nothing but doffed her fedora.

"I am Johnny Mac of Black Yin, White Yang and these are my fellow band members, Zekrom and Reshiram," Johnny Mac said, gesturing to the two pokémon behind him. The

two waved. "Oh, they only speak Isshuese," he added.

James and his pokémon were the last to introduce themselves. "Now that we got that taken care of, what do we do now?" Quartzon asked.

"How about a pokémon battle?" Wukong said, throwing a few punches into the air.

James looked around and spotted a designated battling area nearby. "Sure!" he said.

"I'll be your opponent!" Cynthia said.

The entire group rushed over to the arena. Reshiram, Zekrom and Johnny Mac took the front row while Lugia, as usual, took the referee's stand. James and Cynthia took the trainer's boxes. Palkia was the last to leave as he had to wait for everyone to clear away, lest the jet wash from his hover skiff injure them. When everyone left, he hopped onto his skiff and started the engine.

"This is a one on one battle between Trainer James Elison and Champion Cynthia Shirona," Lugia announced. "Contestants begin!"

"Garchomp! I choose you!" Cynthia cried.

Garchomp stepped onto the rectangular dirt arena. She was wearing her trademark fedora and had her whip. "This should be fun," she said with a smirk.

"Palkia! Go!" James shouted.

Palkia stepped – or rather rode his hover skiff – into the rectangular arena. His body tingled with the anticipation of battle. Granted, it did feel slightly odd being ordered around by James but he did not really care.

"Hold it!" Lugia shouted. "Garchomp! A whip is not a legal held item. Get rid of that this instant! And Palkia! Get off that hover skiff!"

Palkia rode the skiff outside the arena bounds, shut it off and walked back to the arena. Garchomp took off her whip and hat and tossed them to Cynthia.

"This battle will now begin!" Lugia shouted.

"Garchomp! Hit him with Dragon Rush!" Cynthia shouted.

Garchomp nodded as her body began to glow blue.

"Dodge and counter with Aura Sphere!" James ordered.

A pink orb began to form in Palkia's hand as he charged up his attack. "Closer, closer," he muttered to himself as the speeding blue bullet that was Garchomp came closer.

At seemingly the last moment, Palkia leapt out of the way and flung the glowing pink orb at Garchomp.

"Dig then use Dragon Rush!" Cynthia cried.

Garchomp dove into the ground, the pink orb narrowly missing her head as it struck the energy shields and was harmlessly dissipated.

"Hey coward! Come out and fight me!" Palkia shouted. He glanced around for Garchomp.

Palkia noticed the ground starting to crack beneath him. He leapt back as a glowing blue dart soared into the sky. "Missed!" he mocked. "Looks like you could use some more practice!"

"Garchomp, Flamethrower," Cynthia commanded.

"Protect," James said.

A green sphere surrounded Palkia, harmlessly dissipating the intense flames. He obnoxiously wagged his middle finger at Garchomp.

* * *

Ferrum looked with admiration at Palkia. "He's good," he said. He was munching on a Magikarp he snatched from the water.

"I do not exactly approve of his antics in a pokémon battle," Wukong said, watching Palkia give Garchomp the finger. "Though I must say, he is a good fighter."

"I do," Ferrum replied. Palkia had now switched to moving his cupped hand back and forth in front of his face. And his Protect still held up perfectly against Garchomp's Flamethrower and the standoff had been going on for several seconds now.

"Well, you're entitled to your own opinion."

Ferrum was rather infamous for trash-talking, cursing, gloating – in general, being a bad sport.

* * *

Garchomp took a deep breath as she stopped using Flamethrower, her lungs and body ached for lack of air.

Palkia's Protect finally shattered under the abuse it took. "Had enough?" he asked.

"No!" Garchomp countered. She spat on the ground.

"Palkia! Spacial Sword!" James shouted.

Palkia made the motion of drawing a sword from an invisible sheath around his waist. Instantaneously, a three and a half foot pink energy sword flared to life in his right hand. "En garde!" he shouted, lunging at Garchomp.

"Garchomp dodge and use Draco Meteor!" Cynthia shouted.

Garchomp dove out of the way and rolled to her feet as an orange energy ball appeared between her two hand-claws. She loved Draco Meteor; not only was it really flashy, it hit _really_ hard too. "Go Draco Meteor!" she cried, throwing her arms to her sides as the energy ball shot into the sky and detonated, causing glowing orange darts of light to streak across the sky and bombard the battlefield. She did not need to shout out the attack name but she figured out that since her trainer did it, she might as well do it too.

"Oh shit," Palkia muttered as the darts began to rain around him like artillery fire. He tried to dodge them but the shockwave from the explosions threw his balance off.

"Palkia! See if you can hit them back at her!" James shouted.

Palkia nodded as he swung his sword at a dart hurtling right towards him. It ricocheted off the sword and hurtled towards Cynthia, who instinctively dove out of the way. A wise move, seeing as each dart packed the same explosive force as a hand grenade and she would have most certainly been killed if it struck her. Luckily, Cynthia was protected by the energy shield installed in the battle arena

Palkia continued charging through the battlefield as the darts detonated around him, marking the arena with craters and kicking up large dirt plumes. He used his sword to swat aside most of the projectiles but one of them struck his sword arm, dissipating the energy sword. Another dart struck him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

"Palkia! Get up!" James shouted. Palkia did not respond except for a feeble attempt to push himself back to his feet.

"Finish this, Dragon Rush!" Cynthia shouted.

Garchomp leapt into the air and surrounded herself with a blue glow. She was quite happy, maybe even a little overconfident as she prepared to triumph over the Master of Space himself.

By now, some other people and pokémon had joined to watch the battle. The spectators in the stands were at the edge of their seats. The tension in the air was palpable.

Palkia lay in the ground in considerable pain from being bombarded by several Draco Meteor projectiles. Through his haze of pain, he saw a blur of blue coming towards him.

He made the motion of summoning his spacial sword and held the glowing blade in front of himself as the blue blur came closer.

There was a flash of brilliant blue light and an explosion as Garchomp collided with Palkia's blade.

When the dust cleared, Garchomp lay on the ground, unconscious and Palkia was hunched over on the dirt. He was covered in soot and his entire body ached.

"Garchomp is unable to battle! Palkia is the winner!" Lugia shouted, raising his left wing.

The crowd cheered.

Cynthia went into the arena and waited until Garchomp regained consciousness.

"That…was great," Garchomp said with a smile. "I haven't battled that hard since we faced Paul. Too bad Lucario, Spiritomb, Gastrodon and Roserade aren't here."

She then stood up and tried to take a few steps, but she ended up falling down. "Erm, could you please carry me?" she asked with a blush.

"Of course, dear," Cynthia replied. She then scooped up Garchomp in her arms and carried her to the spectator area.

Everyone present stared as Cynthia picked up her two hundred plus pound Garchomp like she weighed nothing.

Palkia staggered out of the area. "Potion," he said.

Wukong tossed him a hyper potion, which he proceeded to spray all over himself. In seconds he felt like new again.

A few seconds later, Garchomp, good as new, courtesy of an application of full restore (a life supply came free with the position of elite four or league champion), went up to Palkia and shook his hand.

"I must admit, that last maneuver was pretty clever. You knew that I can't really change directions too well when using Dragon Rush so you waited until I got close then you drew your sword, causing me to run into the sword," Garchomp said. She had her fedora back but decided to forgo the whip.

"Well, I admit it was a desperation tactic," Palkia said.

"In any case, good battle."

James and Cynthia also shook hands as well. Johnny Mac, Wukong, Quartzon, Ferrum, Reshiram and Zekrom came down from the stands and went up to the combatants.

"Nice battling," Wukong said. "But one thing, I want to mention. You said some very disrespectful things to Garchomp and her trainer. Please don't do that the next time you battle, it is bad sportsmanship"

Palkia flinched. He had to admit, he said some pretty crass things about the two. Not to mention all the rude gestures he made. But he did have to admit, the other spectators seemed to love his trash-talk.

Johnny Mac went up to the group. "Reshiram and Zekrom want to explore a bit," he said. "And Palkia, nice battling!"

James nodded as Reshiram and Zekrom walked towards the city's main street

By now, the sun was up and the waterfront stores were starting to open. Palkia's eyes gleamed as he spotted a Zodiac Motors store near him. "Be right back, I've got some shopping to do," he said, grabbing his messenger bag.

Garchomp and Cynthia were sitting on a bench and they were simply chatting. Ferrum and Lugia decided to stretch their wings and fly around while Wukong and Quartzon chatted.

A few minutes later, Palkia returned with a large plastic bag over his shoulder.

"What did you buy?" Lugia asked, landing next to him.

Palkia pulled what looked like a giant extension cord. "A charging cable for the hover skiff and a racing suit for myself. And a skiff lock," he said. He then put the charger back in and pulled out the racing suit. The suit in question was one piece fire retardant coverall for hover skiff racers. It bore an obnoxious pink and white color scheme.

"Ugh, that's hideous."

"Hey! It's a near exact replica of the suit I wore in the Orange Island Invitational! Which I won."

He then shoved the plastic bag into his messenger bag.

Johnny Mac was sitting on a bench and soaking in the sea breeze when Garchomp took a seat next to him.

"Hey, Mac, you never showed us your pokémon?" she asked.

Johnny Mac sighed. "I don't have any," he said.

"With you?"

"No. None at all."

Garchomp scratched her head. After all, nearly everyone owned a pokémon. "Why's that?" she asked.

"I'm banned from ever owning them," he replied sadly.

"Why?"

"It's some stupid law in Unova. If you have strong psychic abilities you cannot legally own pokémon," he replied. "But I kind of substituted with guns. But they're a poor substitute. I would gladly trade my prized Veekun Arms 151 shotgun for a chance to legally own even a Bidoof in Unova."

Garchomp shook her head. While Unova was famed for its technological innovation, it was reviled as a place where old prejudices were overlooked, if not encouraged by law.

"Hey, how's about we go over to Pier 21, Pier 25 and Pier 27? They've got a navy exhibit!" Lugia said as he looked at an advertisement posted on the wall.

"Why not? It'll give us something to do," Cynthia said, getting to her feet.

"To the piers!" Palkia exclaimed, hopping on his hover skiff and starting the engine. The skiff rose about seventy feet in the air. It was then that Palkia noticed that he was not the only skiff rider. He narrowly avoided getting plowed over by a man riding a "Dragonite" skiff carrying some groceries. The streets in the city now had a fair number of cars on them.

Cynthia recalled Garchomp and put her ball back in her pocket. James did the same, recalling his three pokémon.

Lugia grew to full size and Cynthia, Johnny Mac and James mounted him. He then took to the air and followed Palkia.

As they flew over the city, James swore that Cynthia had turned the same unpleasant green shade as a Gulpin.

* * *

When they finally arrived at Pier 21, they were greeted by a throng of people. As soon as Lugia landed, Cynthia leapt from his back with a hand over her mouth and ran to the edge of the pier as fast as possible, not caring who was in her way.

"Hey, one of you better check on Cynthia," Palkia said, dismounting his skiff, shutting it off and locking it to a rack just outside the entrance for the naval exhibition.

"I'll do it," James said. He then made his way through the crowd to where Cynthia was hunched over the railing.

"Cynthia, you okay?" he asked.

The only response was a gagging sound as Cynthia vomited up what little was in her stomach.

Several more seconds passed as Cynthia took several deep breaths. She tried to quell the wave of nausea that swept her body like the waves striking the dock pilings. She dry-heaved several times before she was able to speak.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, spitting over the railing several times. "Just get me something to rinse my mouth out and let me sit down."

James carefully escorted her to a bench just outside the entrance. "Come in when you're ready," he said.

"Well, we came this far, let's see the ships," Lugia said. He and Palkia stood in line to be admitted. James got behind them.

"We'll meet you at the nearby Harbor Café," Johnny Mac said. He headed over to the aforementioned café, which true to its name, overlooked the ocean.

* * *

Due to fact that active navy ships were present, security was very tight. People were searched before they were permitted into the exhibition. Police officers decked out in body armor and equipped with submachine guns and Growlithe patrolled the area. Several police Yanma flew overhead to keep an eye on things.

Lugia, Palkia and James made it through the checkpoint just fine but they had to leave their digital bags and pokémon with Johnny Mac and Cynthia. Reshiram and Zekrom were nowhere to be seen.

Palkia gazed in astonishment at the two ships in the harbor. One of them was a massive aircraft carrier and the other was a cruiser that was nearly as large. The distinguishing feature of the cruiser was a massive gun that protruded from middle of the ship and a bizarre design that looked like a cross between a stealth bomber, a racing boat and a warship. Both of the ships were decked out in the classic battleship grey paint job.

"Nice ships, whose are they?" James asked.

Palkia looked at his information guide. "Those are ships of the Unova Navy," he said. "The aircraft carrier is the _Zorroark_ class aircraft carrier, UNV_ Sazandra _and the cruiser is the _Unova_ class gun cruiser UNV _Shandara_," he said. He suddenly got a brilliant gleam in his eyes. "And I have an idea", he quickly added with a grin.

"You're not going to do what I think you are going to do, are you?"

Palkia nodded. "Lugia, you board the UNV_ Sazandra_ and try to convince the captain to join us. I'll do the same to the UNV _Shandara_," he said.

"What about me?" James asked.

"Erm, stay here and wait for us. We shouldn't be long."

Lugia flew over to the queue to board the aircraft carrier just as Palkia teleported himself to the queue for the _Shandara_. Luckily, the queue moved very quickly and he was soon at the front of the line. He looked around the flight deck as soon as he was granted access. Around him were throngs of curious people looking at the assorted aircraft and machinery on the deck and several uniformed crewmembers answering their questions.

A placard next to him read "Welcome aboard the _Sazandra"._

Lugia rolled his eyes as he read the piece of paper that a tour guide gave him and returned it. He already knew everything about the _Sazandra_. It was 1,010 feet long and displaced 101,040 tons. It was powered by five palladium-hydrogen fusion reactors – each producing fifty two megawatts – made by Hiun Industrial driving four fifty megawatt superconducting electric motors which turned four propellers, each with a diameter of twenty seven feet. It was armed with three Kamex 20 mm CIWS systems and two RIM-453 Koaruhie short-range missile launchers – each mounting carried five missiles in a self contained box-shaped launch unit. All of which were designed to protect against anti-ship missiles, aircraft and surface threats. And it carried ninety aircraft.

He also knew some things that the general public was not supposed to know, such as its exact top speed (thirty seven knots), its countermeasures (SLQ-52R ROTOM countermeasures suite and SLQ-25R torpedo countermeasure suite), armor (2.5 inches of Kevlar and ceramic protecting the ship's vitals and a Trancell Electronics SVT-734M shield generator that guarded against pokémon attacks).

As he leaned against one of the mounts for the Koaruhie missiles and looked at the curious masses aboard the ship, a sailor went up to him.

"Are you Lugia?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Lugia replied.

"The captain wishes to speak to you."

Lugia shrugged. Being a Legendary had lots of perks and getting to meet the captain of a high tech navy ship was just one of them.

He then followed the man through the mass of people and entered through a door bore a temporary placard reading "No entry". A well lit stairwell was visible beyond the door's threshold.

"Follow me," the sailor said, stepping over the threshold and descending down the stairs.

Lugia, deciding that he could trust the man, followed him. He also kept in mind that if hostilities were shown, he could easily kill the attackers.

* * *

**UNV **_**Sazandra**_** interior**

After descending a well-lit stairwell, they found themselves inside one of the ship's hallways. The hallways were painted the same bland battleship grey as the outside and banks of LEDs in the ceilings illuminated everything in a harsh white light. The wires and pipes were not exposed but covered behind clearly labeled access panels. Several placards detailing everything from fire safety to forbidden activities were visible on the walls.

The halls were surprisingly empty, which surprised Lugia. At least, until he remembered that a fair number of men and women in uniform had been watching Palkia battle with Garchomp. He surmised that many of the sailors were probably enjoying themselves in Lilycove City.

After a few minutes of winding through the labyrinthine hallways of the ship, the duo arrived at one of the ship's meeting rooms

The two stepped over the threshold of the open door and found themselves in what could be described as the ugliest meeting room anyone had ever seen. The only piece of furniture was a large metal table that was bolted to the painted metal floor and several uncomfortable looking metal chairs that were chained to the table's legs.

The captain of the _Sazandra_ sat at the head of the table. He was a thin but rather short Chinese man in his early to mid thirties and wearing the full dress uniform of a captain. "Welcome, Lugia," he said.

Lugia saluted the captain, who returned the salute. "Erm, sir may I have your name?" he asked.

"Very well. I am Jake Yarta. Captain of the _Sazandra_."

"Captain On, exactly why is my presence required?" Lugia asked.

"We know about the serious issue facing the Legendaries."

Lugia's jaw fell open in shock. "But…how?" he asked.

"Someone named Hunter K and her henchmen tried to capture Victini from his home. Luckily, the police managed to stop her before Victini came to harm. While Hunter K was killed by the police-"

"You should have taken her alive."

"Look, from what I heard, she had a poké ball containing an Electrode in her hand. A poké ball – especially one containing an Electrode – is a deadly weapon. Once she tried to throw it, they were forced to shoot her."

Lugia shrugged; he heard had that Isshuian police were more likely to resort to lethal force but then again, since Isshuian criminals were not averse about attacking police or their victims with pokémon or firearms it was understandable. And he learned from Mewtwo's lessons that Unova took quite a bit of its customs and laws from the United States. But the only lesson that stuck out in Lugia's mind was that the Isshuians had also copied the American 2nd amendment and firearms were common among the populace. Hell, on the ride over to Lilycove, he heard Johnny Mac brag about his fifty plus guns back at his house.

"In any case," Captain Yarta continued. "We did manage to extract information from some of her henchmen. They were hired by someone named Cyrus Akagi to assist in capturing all Legendaries from the regions."

Lugia's eyes narrowed; he now knew who was behind the attack on the Hall of Origin. And now, Cyrus was planning to take the war to Unova. "What assistance can you provide?" he asked

"Officially, not much as we do not have jurisdiction in Hoenn. However, unofficially, I will allow you to land and ride aboard the carrier. Not to mention we'll, of course, assist in defending the remaining Legendaries from capture."

"Thank you. Can you provide _offensive_ support? Like if we need to destroy a Team Rocket base?" Lugia asked. Even though his fully charged Aeroblast had roughly the same destructive power as a Tomahawk cruise missile, it was a pokémon attack and could be blocked by a shield generator like the one on the _Sazandra_. Granted, his Aeroblast was strong enough to overload all but the most powerful shield generators. Regardless, he wanted some heavy artillery to back him up.

Captain Yarta frowned as he ran a hand through his short cropped black hair. "I think you are asking a little too much," he replied. "I don't think the Hoenn government will like our aircraft dropping bombs in their territory."

Lugia groaned. He was going to have to find his heavy artillery elsewhere. "Do you have any pokémon we can borrow?"

"There are no pokémon in any of Unova's armed forces," he replied. This was perfectly understandable as it was much cheaper and quicker to produce and equip soldiers with conventional weaponry. And there were the twin bonuses that conventional weapons were immune to status effects and did not require feeding and medical care.

"Okay, thank you Captain Yarta," Lugia said. He then turned around to exit.

"Oh, Lugia, before you go, I'd like you to meet my two right hand men," Captain Yarta said, gesturing to the two men dressed in ensign's uniforms flanking him. One of the men had blue-black hair in a buzz cut and the other had short cropped purple hair.

Lugia looked at them and nodded. "Pleased to meet you, I am Lugia," he said.

"I am Ensign Drake Cornova," the purple haired man said.

"I am Ensign Nikolas Adams," the other man said.

"Well, Captain Yarta, Ensign Cornova and Ensign Adams, I must be off and I hope we see each other again," Lugia said.

As he turned to leave, he saluted the three officers, who saluted him back.

* * *

Palkia sat down on a bench. He was eating a slice of pizza from a street vendor. He grimaced; the pizza he was eating was horrendous but he was so hungry. He paid little heed to the bustle of the crowd.

He was halfway through the slice when Lugia sat next to him. "So how did it go?" he asked between bites.

"Pretty good," Lugia replied. "Captain Jake Yarta of the _Sazandra_ has agreed to help us. He said I can land on his ship but I'm not sure about you guys. Oh, and he'll help defend the remaining Legendaries. But he's not going to use his aircraft to attack Team Rocket bases."

Palkia swallowed his bite of pizza. "Captain Jacqueline Palazzoof theUNV_ Shandara_ doesn't want to help us. Luckily, Ensign Guy Ruog seems to be more willing." he said. He then took out his guidebook. "And that's the one with the huge eight inch railgun that can fling a one hundred plus pound projectile over two hundred miles at hypersonic velocities. Hopefully, Ensign Ruog can get Captain Palazzo to reconsider her decision."

At this point, Cynthia, carrying a bottle of water she purchased from the Harbor Café sat next to him. "So how are things going?" she asked.

"Not that interesting. Lugia got to meet and greet the captain of the UNV_ Sazandra_. By the way, where's Garchomp?"

"She's eating lunch with Johnny Mac."

"Oh," Lugia added. "Someone named Cyrus Akagi is trying to capture the Legendaries."

That did it. Cynthia spat out her water in shock. Palkia clapped her on the back as she coughed.

"Him again!" she exclaimed between coughs.

Lugia was taken aback. "This is not his first time?" he asked.

Palkia shook his head. "A year ago, he used the Lake Trio to enslave myself and my brother and forced us to make him new universe but Cynthia and Ash Ketchum helped defeat him," he said. "And that was the last we saw of him."

"Well, in any case, he's back. And badder than ever and we've got to put a stop to him," Lugia said, slamming his fist into his palm.

Cynthia's grey eyes flashed with anger. "As the champion and Pokémon League representative of Sinnoh, I will bring him to justice."

"Luckily, we're not doing this alone. As Palkia said before, we're trying to recruit some navy ships to help us. So far, Captain Jake Yarta of the _Sazandra_ is willing to help."

"And we've got other navy ships here. Maybe we can cobble together a navy and take him down. I'll check the Hoenn ships. Lugia, you check the Kanto ships," Palkia said, opening a portal, which he stepped through. Lugia took to the air.

James was reading a newspaper. The front page was occupied by an article about the destruction of Altomare. "Why does it feel like my life is going to turn into an action flick?" he said to no one in particular. He had overheard the entire conversation between the three.

Cynthia said nothing but leaned back on the bench and drank some water. She wondered how Garchomp and the other pokémon were doing with Johnny Mac.

* * *

Inside a café near Pier 21, Johnny Mac and the others' pokémon were eating lunch. The café was full of people ordering various drinks and fast food. The café was blandly decorated with potted plants throughout the café. The floor was a boring off-white tile design. Reproductions of Lugia's artwork hung on the walls, lending a slightly classy atmosphere.

Garchomp was eating some rice balls and Wukong was eating some fruit while the others were eating pokémon food.

Johnny Mac was eating a plate of sushi. He watched as Garchomp struggled with a packet of soy sauce. Both he, Garchomp and Wukong were sitting at a table. Ferrum and Quartzon were eating their meals on the floor.

"Some help?" Garchomp asked as she tried to tear open the packet.

Johnny Mac looked at the soy sauce packet and it started to levitate. Suddenly, the top of the packet tore free and it emptied its contents onto a small dipping bowl.

"Thanks!" Garchomp replied, skewering a rice ball and dipping it into the soy sauce. She had to admit, the rice balls were not as good as the one that her trainer made but they were decent.

"No problem," Johnny Mac replied. He then pointed to a trash can in the corner of the room and the empty packet shot across the room into the trash can – much to the surprise of another patron who narrowly avoided getting struck by a speeding condiment packet.

"You're a psychic?" Quartzon asked. Since they were at the edge of Lugia's translation field, her speech was understandable to him.

"Yeah," Johnny Mac replied. He casually levitated a chopstick to demonstrate.

"I know that psychic humans exist," Ferrum said. He then saw a silver haired woman levitating three trays filled with food over to a table where her family was sitting and her two children telekinetically grabbing ketchup packets. "But I have never seen a place where psychic powers are used so openly and without prejudice."

"Shove it, Ferrum," Wukong replied. "You know damn well that Hoenn is very tolerant in general. Not to mention you've met a psychic Officer Jenny in this city!"

"I wonder what Reshiram and Zekrom are doing?" Johnny Mac asked as he sipped his cup of coffee. He grimaced as he tasted the coffee and discreetly poured the cup into the potted plant next to him.

The door to the café opened and Reshiram and Zekrom walked in. Zekrom was carrying a keg under each arm and Reshiram was wearing a loincloth.

"Ah Zek and Reshi, what have you been up to?" Johnny Mac asked.

"Buying some beer and Reshiram here was outraging public decency," Zekrom replied, sticking the kegs into her messenger bag.

Ferrum let out a fake cough that sounded a lot like "Feather-cock!" This earned him a glare from Wukong.

"Since when did you learn Isshuese?" Wukong asked.

"Never," Ferrum replied. He then turned to the two new arrivals. "Since when did you learn English?"

"That explains the loincloth," Garchomp muttered, finishing up her rice balls. She then did a double take as she realized she could understand Zekrom. "Wait! Since when did I understand Isshuese!"

"I can explain," Zekrom said. She had a noticeable accent but she was otherwise understandable "We took a short course in speaking English. It was offered right here in Lileycove City."

Reshiram whispered something to her. "Oh, sorry. Lilycove, my error," Zekrom said with a chuckle.

Johnny Mac returned from the bathroom. "Well, if my timing is right, Lugia and the others should be done with the ships right about now," he said.

* * *

A portal appeared in front of Cynthia, who was drinking yet another bottle of water. James was snoozing on a nearby bench. Palkia stepped through the portal just as Lugia landed next to him. The portal blinked out of existence.

"So what happened?" Cynthia asked.

"The _Kumo_ class battleship, HNS _Craydaunt _is out of service," Palkia said. He then looked at his guidebook. "Ugh, and the _Kumo _class battleships were regarded as some of the finest ships in the Hoenn Navy. In any case, I did meet the captain, a certain Katie S. Rowling. Too bad she's retired and the _Craydaunt_ is a museum ship now. But I digress."

Lugia went over to James and prodded him until he woke up. James then took a seat next to Cynthia.

"Anyway," Palkia continued. "I managed to 'recruit' the _Mauville_ class destroyer _HNS Gardvior. _And it's a special ship."

"What's so special about it?" James asked with a yawn.

Lugia took the guidebook from Palkia and flipped to the section about the _Gardvior_. "The _Gardvior_ is a destroyer specially modified for Legendary escorts – you know if we're meeting foreign dignitaries or something or for special occasions."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Not according to tradition. As we are considered divinities, Captain Drake On will take orders from us but only if we are on the ship. Conversely, if he feels the order is deleterious to himself, the ship, ourselves or an ally, he can refuse. In fact, he is supposed to refuse an order like that. Not to mention his right hand man, Ensign Daniel Ernston also keeps an eye on things too."

Lugia shuddered as he recalled the last time he was on the _Gardvior_. Manaphy, Suicune, Shaymin, Latios, Latias and himself were onboard the ship and headed to the Temple of the Sea for a ceremony and festival. Shaymin had gotten drunk and issued an order to shell Altomare. It took Latios, Latias, Lugia and some sailors to subdue Shaymin and lock her in a spare room until she sobered up. Even though he enjoyed the food served on the ship and his room was luxurious, he had to admit that the best part was the spectacle. The Legendary Birds, jet fighters from the Hoenn Air Force and Sinnoh Air Defense Force all performed flybys, leaving trails of multicolored smoke behind them. Below them was the _Gardvior_, flanked by two giant red Gyarados that Kyogre had recruited. Several additional water pokémon guarded the lavishly decorated ships carrying the human worshippers.

Lugia's journey to the past was interrupted by Palkia grabbing and shaking him. "Lugia! Now's not the time to go digging in the past," Palkia said.

Lugia shook his head. "Oh, right, sorry. Erm, where was I?"

Palkia took the guidebook from Lugia. "You're supposed to tell us about the ships you recruited!" he snapped.

"What ships?"

"You said you'd check the Kanto ships!"

"I did! And all of them wanted money!" Lugia said. "And the Silph Co. Navy's got the best ships," he added with a sigh.

Palkia held up his hand. "Wait. Wait. _Silph Co_. Navy? As in the Silph Co. that is more known for pokémon products!" he asked.

"Know any other Silph Co.?" Lugia replied.

"Never heard of a company owning their own military force."

"Believe me, Silph Co. is rich enough to do that. In any case, I engaged in some haggling with Captain Ryan Takeshiof the_ Mijizel_ class attack submarineSCNV_ Draconite_. He'll help us for twenty five million poké."

Palkia's jaw dropped. He was indignant that Captain Takeshi essentially put a price on their lives. "Where are we going to get that kind of money!" he demanded.

"Nowhere," Lugia replied. "Unless we hit up Johnny Mac or Cynthia but that seems kind of undignified."

"And what about the other ship?" Palkia asked bitterly.

"Oh, you mean the _Koga _class missile cruiser, SCNV_ Saedra_? Yeah, that's even more out of our budget. Captain Tara Willow wants seventy million poké for her services."

Palkia swore.

"Hey, at least you got an aircraft carrier and a destroyer on your side," James said.

"Well, let's meet up with Johnny Mac and the others," Cynthia said, getting up and heading to the exit.

Lugia, Palkia and James followed her.

* * *

Johnny Mac, Reshiram, Zekrom, Garchomp and James's pokémon were outside the café and waiting for the others to arrive.

"Looks like your calculations are off," Ferrum said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Johnny Mac replied. He was sipping some soda while Zekrom was drinking beer straight from the keg.

"Hey guys! We're here!" Palkia called. He was standing just outside the gate to Pier 21. Several people pushed past him in their haste to get to the navy ships. He picked up his bag, unlocked and mounted his hover skiff.

"So what happened?"

"We've got an aircraft carrier and a specialized destroyer on our side," Lugia said. He grabbed his own bag while James and Cynthia also grabbed their luggage.

"Nice!"

"Not so fast!" Palkia said. "They're for the Legendaries only! But we may be able to make some arrangements."

"Sounds good," James said.

"So what do you want to do?" Lugia asked.

Garchomp noticed a large poster advertising a technology expo by Zekurom Industries. She smirked as she recalled seeing a television advertisement for their 2021 series costumes. "How about we check out the expo?" she suggested, pointing to the poster.

Cynthia immediately figured out what Garchomp was planning and nodded. "Sure, it's not like we've got any leads to go on and besides, we just escaped a siege. We could use a break," she replied.

"I can warp us to the expo center," Palkia said.

"Please do."

Palkia nodded and started glowing pink. He used his fingers to draw a door in the air next to James. It then started to grow until it was over ten feet tall. Like a television screen, it blinked to life with a live image of the expo center.

"All right, let's head through," Palkia said. He then mounted his skiff and rode it through the portal and vanished.

A few seconds later, he stuck his head through the portal. "All clear," he said.

As soon as Palkia's head was out of the portal, the others filed through.

When Johnny Mac filed through, the portal collapsed in on itself.

Most of the inhabitants paid no heed to the portal as they were used to seeing Palkia travel in such a manner but his portal had attracted quite a large crowd of tourists. No one noticed an oddly metallic Ninjask flitting overhead.

* * *

**Deserted Island – a few miles northeast off Lilycove City**

Meanwhile, deep inside a bunker on a deserted island a few miles northeast of Lilycove City, several men dressed in grey and white jumpsuits were sitting inside some sort of control room. Various indicator lights blinked on the consoles as technicians kept tabs on the bewildering influx of information.

A large screen in the front wall of the room lit up and showed a video of Palkia and his crew walking through a portal which then blinked out of existence.

A gold haired man stood at the room's entrance, opposite the screen. He smirked. "You may have escaped the first time back in Sinnoh but this time, you won't be so lucky!" he said coldly.


	15. Chapter 15: I am the Garchomp

Chapter 15: I am the Garchomp

**Northeast Lilycove City - Hoenn**

Inside a small poké mart in the northeast part of Lilycove City, a shelf in the backroom creaked as a secret door swung open. Five aqua haired individuals all dressed in street clothes stepped out of the passage. In their hands were identical metal briefcases. One of the individuals shut the door and was rewarded with a _click_ as the lock engaged. The room now looked like an ordinary stockroom with shelves crammed full of assorted merchandise and boxes of even more merchandise on the ground.

"You know our task, right?" a woman asked.

"Capture Palkia and Lugia. Assassinate Cynthia Shirona," the others chorused. Luckily for them, the stockroom's door was closed and it was soundproofed so no one heard them.

"Good."

The group then exited the storeroom and stepped out into the bustling store. They exited the store without anyone giving them a second glance.

While northeast Lilycove City was superficially quite beautiful, it held a dirty secret; many of the small "mom-and-pop" stores that graced the neighborhood were run by the crime syndicate Team Rocket – the poké mart that the aqua haired group came out of was no exception. As a result, this was the main conduit for contraband goods – everything from stolen pokémon to illegal weapons was yours to buy if you had the right connections.

* * *

Palkia and his group reemerged at the entrance of Pier 35 – the swanky waterfront district of Lilycove City. There were several nice restaurants overlooking the sea. Not to mention, several expensive boutique stores sold everything from exotic automobiles to pokémon accessories. Several people with Persian, Meowth, Glameow, Purugly, Milotic and other "cute" pokémon were present.

Palkia took a moment to stash his hover skiff inside his digital bag. He was quite grateful for his spacial powers.

Johnny Mac looked at a blue haired woman sitting next to them with a Glameow wearing a jeweled collar. The woman was carrying a black designer handbag and wearing a very elegant red dress. "This area's too stuffy for my taste," he muttered.

"Ugh," Zekrom muttered. She hated being around fancy things. She finished off her keg of beer and belched, not caring that she attracted several hostile stares.

"Zekrom! Please have some decency!" Johnny Mac scolded.

"Fuck you."

"Plebes. Come, let us leave these uncouth ruffians," the Glameow said to her master. Even though the Glameow's words were not understandable to her master, the meaning was clear as the woman shot a dirty glare at Johnny Mac and Zekrom before she walked away.

James, Garchomp, Wukong, Ferrum, Quartzon and Cynthia were not having an easier time. The dirty clothing that James was wearing attracted a lot of stares and hushed whispers from the high society individuals present. He silently cursed the translation field for letting him hear what the other pokémon were saying about him. If anything, they were far less polite than their trainers.

Like their trainer, Wukong, Ferrum and Quartzon attracted lots of whispering and stares from the pokémon and their upper class trainers. Of course, Ferrum's habit of cursing out the pokémon who insulted him did not help matters.

"Ferrum! Please, let it go." Quartzon pleaded. "You're making a scene!"

Ferrum did not hear her as he was screaming at a Meowth wearing a red ribbon around his neck. "Hey you! Come back here and apologize for that remark!" he shouted.

He got no response.

"Hey dipshit! I'm talking to you!" he shouted.

The Meowth turned to him with his nose turned up in the air as if Ferrum had an offensive odor. "Come back to me when you learn to stop swearing," he said. He then led his trainer away.

In contrast, Cynthia and Garchomp were mobbed by a horde of adoring fans and paparazzi who hounded her for photos and autographs. The questions bombarded her relentlessly.

"How was your battle against Paul?"

"What's your secret to raising strong pokémon?"

"Is it true you once helped guard the adamant orb?"

"Is it true you're romantically involved with Garchomp?"

Cynthia's head spun from all the questions she was asked. "Please, leave me alone," she pleaded. She quickly shoved her way through the crowd. "_Being a hair over six feet tall and incredibly strong really helps getting away from nosy people_", she thought.

She then sprinted over to where James and the others were. James had recalled Ferrum on the advice of Wukong as fight had nearly started after Ferrum insulted Dome Ace Tucker, who remembered him from a month ago when he lost to his Salamence.

Needless to say, it got worse when Tucker's Milotic got involved. And this Milotic was as narcissistic and flamboyant as his trainer. And of course, Ferrum just had to say something about a "fruity Milotic". Granted, most of the Milotic he met tended to be rather feminine – even the males. He figured that obsession with beauty was hardwired into the Milotic brain.

"Ugh, let's get to the convention center before something else happens," Wukong said.

James nodded as he placed Ferrum's ball back on his belt.

Garchomp literally crawled out from beneath the pile of adoring fans. "Ugh, let's never come here again," she said. She picked up her fedora, which had been knocked to the ground by the horde, and put it back on.

The group then sprinted over to the entrance of the contest hall. The contest hall was a large open air arena. A banner that read "Lilycove Welcomes Zekurom Industries!" festooned the entrance. A large crowd lined up outside the entrance. An attached building normally served as the training area but for the expo, it was used as a place to showcase Zekurom Industry's products.

The group then stood in line and waited to be admitted.

Zekrom belched again as she stood in line. Reshiram yawned.

"Next," the ticket agent called. James was next in line. He paid 650 poké for his ticket and entered the arena.

He sat next on a bench and waited for the others to pay. He glanced around; posters advertising Zekurom Industry's wares were plastered all over the place. There were some vendors selling assorted "street foods". His stomach growled, reminding him that he had not eaten for nearly an entire day. He went up to a vendor and bought himself some rice balls.

He then took a seat next to Palkia, who was also eating some rice balls.

"Palkia can I have a word with you?" James asked.

Palkia said nothing but nodded.

James cleared his throat. He had finally recovered from the shock of learning about Palkia's plan. "Are you fucking crazy! You're getting the navies of three different regions involved in this! Do you know what'll happen if you screw up! And what about myself and Cynthia and Johnny Mac? You could have hired some soldiers but no, you had to pick three people who have no combat experience to help you save the world! And on top of that you potentially get three different governments involved in this mess!"

Palkia glared at James. "You said you wanted to join us," he replied coolly.

James ground his teeth. "But Cynthia and-"

"I never forced them to join. I just told them of what I learned and Cynthia said she'll help bring Cyrus to justice."

"What of Mac?"

"Oops. Oh well, I'll ask him tomorrow or something."

James shook his head as he went to buy a snack. The Legendaries were at times completely inscrutable but he dared not say anything lest he offend them.

After a few minutes, the others arrived.

"So ready to look around and see what they've got?" Garchomp asked.

"Let me finish my meal," James replied between bites.

The others sat on the benches.

When James was finished, Wukong handed him a directory. "Blah, the only thing interesting here is the 2021 costume section. And judging by the amount of space devoted to it; it looks like their biggest seller," James said.

"Sure," Palkia said. He then noticed an arrow sign that read "2021 costume section" and pointing to what he knew to be the training building.

The group then headed towards the building and judging by the large crowd going with them, it seemed that James's guess was right.

* * *

When the group entered, they were struck by how clean everything was. The main entrance bore elegant red carpet and was decorated with beautiful bronze sculptures of classical Greek heroes. The centerpiece was Palkia's reinterpretation of Hercules slaying the Stymphalian Birds with Hercules as a Machamp and the Stymphalian Birds as Skarmory. The craftsmanship was so good that one could almost see the sculptures coming to life and doing battle before their eyes. A bronze plaque bearing a statement from the artist and his signature was affixed to the guardrail that surrounded the installation.

Palkia looked admiringly at his sculpture. "Ah yes, the _Stymphalian_ _Skarmory_. It took me five years to make it," he said with a tear in his eye. Out of the many sculptures he made, this one and the heroic nude statue of Dialga outside the Eterna City Museum in Sinnoh were his favorites. Not surprisingly, many people took pictures of the statue.

"Erm, we came here to see those costumes, not Palkia's artwork. Though I do admit; it is very nice," Garchomp said.

"Right," Lugia added.

James was looking at his directory. "Well, it looks like this entire floor is dedicated to the 2021 costumes."

The group then entered a room labeled "The Power Inside: How They Work". The room itself was a training room that was converted into an auditorium. Garchomp noticed the four disc-shaped antenna arrays in the corners of the room. Those antennas projected the shield that protected the room from damage.

As soon as they took a seat, a silver haired man stepped onto the stage. "Welcome, I am Dr. James Miardan, head of the 2021 research division," the man said.

Dr. Miardan took a moment to adjust his glasses. "Today, I am here to demonstrate the inner workings of a 2021 costume. Feel free to ask questions as well. Of course, due to trade secrets, there are some things I cannot tell you," he continued. "And let's start things off by examining the power source."

He then hoisted an assembly roughly the size and shape of a two SCUBA tanks with a large tin can welded between them onto the table. Two reinforcing struts linked the two side tanks together both above and below the "can". A filling pipe protruded from the top of the right tank and several wires protruded from the "can". "This is heart of the costume," Dr. Miardan said proudly. "Yes, you," he said, pointing to a pink haired woman.

"What is its fuel?" she asked.

"I was getting to that," Dr. Miardan said. "The two large side tanks hold liquid hydrogen. The canister in between the two side tanks is a palladium-hydrogen fusion reactor. The reactor in question is specifically made for this costume. It produces roughly twenty kilowatts. Now then, if there are no more questions about the power source-"

He was interrupted by a blue haired teen raising his hand.

"Question?" Dr. Miardan asked.

"Yes," the teen replied. "What cools off the reactor and keeps the hydrogen liquefied?"

"I cannot get into too much detail about the cooling system as it is proprietary but I will say that the fuel also serves as a coolant. Nevermeltice insulation keeps the fuel from boiling away," he replied. "Now then, let's examine the attack generator. Well actually, I cannot show it to you as it is, again a trade secret. But I will say that the attacks are generated by stimulating certain materials, causing them to emit energy as the electrons fall back to their ground state."

Zekrom was leaning her head against Reshiram and was sound asleep. Reshiram then poked Zekrom. "If I have to sit through this, then so do you!" he said.

Zekrom yawned and sat up. In a few seconds, she was asleep again.

Apparently, Dr. Miardan's lecture was starting to bore the listeners as several people got up and left.

* * *

When the group was safely out of Dr. Miardan's soporific lecture, they decided to plan their next move.

"Ugh, talk about boring," Quartzon said. "It's like watching Slowpoke move."

Apparently, Quartzon's sentiment was echoed by the throngs of people exiting the room. Most of the people were not talking about how amazing the technology was but about how boring Dr. Miardan was.

Suddenly, the PA system blared to life.

_Attention please, anyone interested in entering the contest must report to the main contest arena to sign up. _

"Hey, cool! A contest! Let's enter!" Quartzon chirped.

"Need I remind you that we're trying to stop Cyrus and we can't be wasting time on a contest?" Wukong chided.

"Actually, Quartzon is onto something," James said, reading from the brochure he picked up from an information booth. "It looks like part of the expo is a costume contest. You pick out a costume from their lineup and you participate in a contest and a battle but the roles are reversed – the trainer becomes the pokémon and the pokémon becomes the trainer. It looks like it lasts a total of three days."

"We don't have time for that."

"Wukong, let me finish," James scolded. "First place winner gets a free 2021 costume, their choice of model. Second place nets an electronics grab bag worth one million poké. Third place nets 250,000 poké. And of course, all the participants get a pretty damn nice looking ribbon and badge."

"All well and good but that's not going to help us catch Cyrus!" Garchomp snapped.

Cynthia absorbed the information that James had given her and grinned. "Yes, it will."

Garchomp's jaw dropped. "Are you going to battle Cyrus's goons dressed up as a pokémon?"

"Not quite. If we win, we can hock the costume and hire the ships that Lugia mentioned," she replied. "Though I have to admit, I am a little leery about this plan," she added in a whisper.

"One problem," James said. He then glanced at the brochure. "Okay, two problems. First, how do we know that we will even win? Second, the entry fee is twenty five thousand poké per entrant. Just where are we going to get that kind of cash?"

Nobody said anything as James just completely shot down Cynthia's plan. Seconds and people passed by as the group just stood there.

Palkia put his hand on his chin and started thinking. "You know, Lugia and I have twenty five grand between us," he said.

"But don't you need to eat?" James asked.

Lugia shook his head. "We'll manage on berries and other things we can scavenge. If worse comes to worse, we can simply not eat as Legendaries don't need food to live," he said.

"I'm completely broke," Johnny Mac replied. He had spent all his pocket money on lunch for the pokémon and himself.

"We should have two people entering to increase our chances of winning – even if that increase is slight," Cynthia said. She then pulled out her wallet and looked in it. "But I've only got fifteen thousand."

Zekrom reached into her bag and pulled out a ten thousand poké bill. She looked somewhat displeased at doing so. "Here," she said, handing the bill to Cynthia. "Be grateful, that was my beer money."

"Zekrom! Be nice!" Reshiram scolded.

Lugia handed Cynthia the cash as well. "All right," he said. "So who's entering?"

"I'm not," Johnny Mac said.

"Why not? You're a sure hand with Energy Ball and I'm pretty sure you can pull off Psychic or at least Confusion," Garchomp countered. She had to admit, Johnny Mac's Energy Ball was pretty damn strong. She toyed with the idea of suggesting that he teach himself Thunderbolt or some other elemental attacks. But she dismissed the idea as she recalled hearing about people dying after using TMs on themselves or in the process of using the attacks.

"Because, I have no idea if my powers can work inside that costume and if I wreck that costume, I'm going to be shelling out big bucks to replace it. Not to mention, I've never had pokémon so I don't know what to do."

Cynthia nodded. "Well, I guess that leaves me and James to enter," she said. She then turned to James. "You want to enter?"

James nodded. "It's for a good cause," he said. "But I have to admit, I've never done anything like this."

"Don't worry. You'll love it. Role reversals are always interesting," Garchomp said, placing a claw on James's shoulder.

"Speaking of which, let's enter before they close!" Cynthia said. She then dashed out the entrance and headed for the contest arena. Apparently, the Sinnoh champion was also a track star.

"I've seen slower Ninjask," Garchomp said, her jaw agape. "Wait up!"

She then ran after Cynthia.

Lugia took to the air and flew after her while the others ran after the two.

* * *

There were seven registration tables set up in the arena to help speed things up but the lines at each table actually snaked up into the stands. Throngs of spectators and other assorted people and pokémon were wandering around, trying to get to various destinations or were just simply taking a break from all the walking. The arena was in fact, open air and looked like pretty much any other sports stadium. Except for the four large antennas at the corners of the rectangular field. Those were the shield emitters that prevented spectators from getting injured by stray pokémon attacks. Smaller emitters hidden underneath the field protected the judges and trainers.

Cynthia and James got in line for the seventh table just before they closed off the line.

Palkia, Johnny Mac, Lugia, Reshiram, Zekrom, Garchomp, Quartzon and Wukong sat on one of the stadium seats.

Palkia put his feet on the back of the seat. A Machoke sat next to him but paid him little heed.

"We're going to have a lot of time to kill," Johnny Mac said with a sigh.

* * *

Over an hour later, Cynthia and James returned. By this time, Zekrom and Reshiram were arguing about something. Palkia, Quartzon and Garchomp were all napping. Wukong and Johnny Mac were in another part of the stands and trying to earn a bit of cash with a street performance. Lugia was listening to his music player.

"Hey, we're ready," Cynthia said. She had a rather thick book tucked under her arm.

Palkia, Quartzon and Garchomp awoke. Somehow, they slept through the bustle of the crowd but awoke at Cynthia's voice.

"So where are your costumes?" Garchomp asked.

"We'll have to pick up them later."

"And where are we going to live?" Palkia asked. "I can't warp you all across the city repeatedly. Besides, James's apartment isn't big enough to fit everyone."

Cynthia opened her rulebook. "Well, the arena has a pretty nice hotel on the grounds and an onsite pokémon center that coordinators can live in while they compete. We'll stay at the hotel," she said.

"So what did we miss?" Wukong asked. He and Johnny Mac were the last to arrive.

"We're staying at the onsite hotel. And what were you two doing?"

"We were trying to earn some money. So far, it looks like we got enough for a really cheap meal from a street vendor."

Everyone sighed. Street vendor fare was a good way to get the local "flavor" of an area but it was not exactly that healthy and it got repetitive after a while.

"Well, let's hope the hotel is at least decent. The last contest arena hotel I stayed at was unspeakably disgusting," Lugia said. He shuddered as he recalled the revolting hotel in all its tacky-wallpaper-with-mildew-and-musty-odor-and-stained-carpet glory.

"Well only one way to find out," James said. "Follow me."

James then led the group through one of the exits. A temporary sign labeled "Contest hall hotel" helpfully pointed the way.

* * *

After a short walk, they arrived at the hotel – a twenty story building with gargoyles carved on its concrete façade. A large crowd of tourists and contestants milled about the hotel's entrance. Two marble Salamence statues flanked the entrance.

"It looks decent," Lugia said, examining the building. He wanted to fly up and peer inside one of the rooms to see what it was like but decided that would be impolite.

"Well, let's check in, get our costumes and practice," Garchomp said.

"One problem, I look like I've gone through a war and all my clothes got destroyed in the fire," Cynthia said.

"I have some spare clothes," James said. He then examined Cynthia head to toe and realized she was six inches taller than he was. "But I don't think you'll fit them."

Cynthia scowled. "Don't call me fat."

James quickly backed away and apologized. If it was one thing he learned quickly, it was to not make Cynthia mad, seeing as she picked up her two hundred plus pound Garchomp like she weighed nothing and that kind of strength was not to be trifled with.

"We could just go buy some new clothes," Wukong pointed out.

"We're broke," Palkia said.

Cynthia sighed.

"Let's check in first; I could use a nice hot bubble bath after all that flying," Lugia said.

Everyone stared at him. Zekrom whispered something to Reshiram who snickered madly. Garchomp crossed her two hand-claws in front of her mouth trying to hold in a few snorts of laughter.

"What? Male Legendaries can't take bubble baths?"

"I never knew Legendaries were so like us," Cynthia whispered. She recalled taking romantic candlelit baths with Garchomp but found it difficult to imagine _Lugia_ doing the same.

Wukong shook his head. "Guys, check in then you can do whatever you damn well please."

The group then filed into the hotel's lobby. Lugia's assessment of "decent" was a gross understatement. Several simple but tasteful black steel and glass end tables scattered around the lobby. An elegant vase – each filled with an assortment of brightly colored flowers – rested atop each table. Paintings ranging from basic pokémon portraits to dreamy landscapes adorned the wall behind each vase. A single halogen light spotlighted each pair of vase and painting.

Several surprisingly simple but elegant ceiling lamps, consisting of a frosted glass bowl dangling from the ceiling by a brushed metal stalk, illuminated the lobby.

"Nice place," Palkia said.

"We're going to go broke," Lugia whispered. He glanced around at the lavishly decorated lobby. "I mean look at this place. It's got to cost several thousand poké a night."

"Remember, we're Legendaries. We can stay for free at any hotel in the Pokémon Continent."

Lugia nodded. "Yeah, but Arceus said not to abuse that privilege and we're supposed to be on our best behavior when we do that," he said.

"Got it. Let's take a seat."

Lugia sat on the ledge of the hotel's pride and joy: the dazzlingly beautiful marble fountain in its lobby. A Milotic – carved from cloud-white marble – formed the right side of the fountain. It was arched as if leaping to the sky. A graceful arc of water jetted from its mouth and landed in the pool below it. A Gyarados – carved from red marble – formed the left side of the fountain. The statue was carved so it appeared to be rearing up, mouth agape in a silent roar. From its mouth issued not the golden lance of a Hyper Beam but a gentle rush of water. Not surprisingly, several people were taking pictures of the fountain. Others threw coins into the fountain.

Johnny Mac sat next to Palkia. Both of them were sitting on an oddly out of place flame-red couch and nearly sank into its plush upholstery. "Wow. Fancy place," Johnny Mac said, looking at the elegant sculpture.

Reshiram and Zekrom sat next to him.

Wukong, Quartzon and Garchomp sat on the couch to the left of the one that Johnny Mac sat on.

It was then Garchomp noticed that there was no clatter of footsteps thanks to the plush "Giratina black" carpet underfoot.

Cynthia and James went off to get a room. Luckily, the ID cards they got granted them and two guests free room and board as long as they were contestants. Unluckily, it looked like the hotel was going to be nearly packed with contestants and tourists.

* * *

Cynthia and James returned to the couches only to find everyone asleep. Lugia was reading a brochure about the amusements the city offered.

"Hey, we've got our rooms so let's head up and-"

James was interrupted by the loudspeaker coming to life. The loudspeaker woke everyone else up.

_Attention_ _all contestants. Please head to the Sky Tower conference room for an informational meeting._

"Looks like we'd better get going," Cynthia said. "Oh, Palkia and Lugia; Garchomp and I will be sharing a room with you." She then tossed the two their room keys. "Head up and make yourselves comfortable."

James tossed the room keys to Reshiram, Zekrom and Johnny Mac. "I'm next to Cynthia's room. You're rooming with me. Feel free to go in," he said.

"I'll help the two pick out their costumes," Palkia said.

"Perhaps, you'd better let me do this," Wukong said. "No offense, but you don't know him quite as well as I do."

"Okay fine."

"Reshiram, Zekrom, Mac watch Quartzon and make sure she doesn't watch anything inappropriate and make sure Ferrum doesn't pick more fights," James ordered. He then tossed Ferrum's poké ball to Reshiram, who caught it and placed it in his bag.

Wukong silently swore. How did James know about that incident in Altomare?

Palkia, Lugia, Reshiram, Zekrom, Johnny Mac and Quartzon all followed the people heading to the hallway right of the check in desk. This hall led to the elevators. James, Cynthia, Garchomp and Wukong went the opposite way of the others. This led to the assorted amenities of the hotel, which included a restaurant, gift shop, small battle arena, gym, swimming pool and of course, the ballroom.

* * *

Palkia opened the door to his room and turned on the lights. The room had wall to wall carpeting in "Giratina black" and one of Lugia's paintings hung above the couch. A flat screen TV hung on the wall opposite the couch. A fully stocked minibar was placed in the corner. The other corner of the room held a simple but elegant wooden desk with an internet connection. A luxurious twin bed occupied the space near the window. A room connected to the main room had another twin bed along with a dresser.

"Well, this is nice place," Lugia said. His eyes lit up as he spotted the posh bathroom. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go soak my wings."

He then dashed into the bathroom and shut the door. The sound of water running could be heard.

Palkia shrugged and pulled the skiff out of his bag. He glanced at the battery gauge; he had just barely made it, a few more minutes of flight would have depleted the battery and forced him to glide to a landing. He plugged in his skiff, sat on the couch and turned on the TV. To his enjoyment, they actually paid for the premium cable channel, Swordsmanship Today.

"Well, I could always brush up on my swordsmanship," he said, drawing his spacial sword. He had tuned it so it was merely a beam of light, lest he damage the furniture – despite the shielding system integrated into the hotel, it only affected the walls and attached furnishings.

The hum and crackle of his sword as he parried, thrust and slashed alongside the instructor on TV drowned out the moans of pleasure coming out of the bathroom.

* * *

Johnny Mac opened the door to his room and let Ferrum out of his ball. The room was an exact copy of the room that Palkia and Lugia stayed in. Except the bedroom had two single beds instead of one twin.

Reshiram and Zekrom flopped down on the couch and turned the TV on. They were watching a local channel that highlighted the events around Lilycove City. Zekrom went to the minibar and grabbed a bottle of bourbon. She opened the bottle and took a long swig.

"Drink?" she asked, offering the bottle to the others.

Reshiram looked at the bottle and frowned. "I hope you can pay for that," he said, fiddling with the remote.

"I don't drink," Johnny Mac replied. He then picked up the complementary issue of _Champion_ from the computer table and started reading.

"I'll take some!" Ferrum said. He was standing on the floor.

Zekrom shrugged, poured some of the liquor into a glass and placed it by Ferrum who started drinking. She then continued drinking the liquor.

Ferrum perched on the chair. "Hey, where's Quartzon?" he asked.

"Right here," Quartzon said. She was under the desk.

* * *

In the ballroom, a vast quantity of metal crates were scattered on the dance floor. Each of the crates contained one 2021 costume and a user's manual. A placard attached to each crate detailed the type of pokémon, the gender and the attacks programmed into the costume. Of course, the contestants were forbidden from altering the rental costumes in any way, shape or form.

There were several representatives scattered about the floor to answer questions. Several tourists and real pokémon wandered the floor in addition to the horde of cosplayers. Granted, most of the tourists had arrived first because the cosplayers had to watch a safety video before they were allowed to choose their costumes.

James examined a nearby crate. A five foot tall Sableye walked past him followed by an equally large Mismagius. He shrugged; after all they were probably cosplayers like he was. He did a double take as he realized the Mismagius cosplayer was actually _hovering_ along the ground.

"_With all the technology stuffed into them, no wonder they're so expensive_," he thought.

"You got a costume yet?" Wukong asked. He was wearing what appeared to be a small radio headset.

"No," James replied. He noticed Wukong's radio headset. "What are you wearing?"

"Translator headset. The pokémon that will be commanding their trainers in the contest and battle will wear one so the trainers can understand them. Another fine product from Zekurom Industries."

James cracked a smile at what Wukong said. "What, you their latest advertiser now?"

"Very funny."

James then spotted a crate with a Dragonite costume and examined the list of attacks. "Hmm. Moveset of Dragon Pulse, Thunderbolt, Fire Punch, Dragon Rush, Fire Blast and Ice Beam." he said, reading from the placard. "And I've always wanted to soar through the skies! I'll take it!"

James then picked up the surprisingly light crate and carried it over to the checkout table. When he placed the crate on the table, the clerk scanned it and his ID and recorded the information on a laptop.

"Just so you know," the clerk said. "All flight capable costumes have their flight systems disabled. It's a security thing."

James sighed. "On second thought, I'll take another costume," he said. He understood their rationale (Zekurom Industries can't have someone flying off with a multimillion poké costume) but it still put a dampener on his dreams of flight.

The clerk punched something into the laptop and placed the crate aside where another employee carried it back to the floor.

* * *

Cynthia and her Garchomp were in another section of the ballroom looking at additional costumes. An abnormally tall Gabite passed by them.

"Erm, was that a real Gabite?" Cynthia asked.

Garchomp glanced at the Gabite for a moment and nodded "Looks like it," she replied, adjusting her radio headset and fedora.

They were proven wrong when said Gabite approached a representative, pressed something on its side and removed its head, revealing a black haired woman. She then asked where the bathroom was.

Cynthia examined the row of crates near her. Each one of the crates held a Garchomp costume. "Looks like Garchomp costumes are a hot commodity," she said. Several people were examining the crates as well.

"Probably due to us being here," Garchomp replied. She then examined a nearby crate. "Oh, here's a good set."

"What is it?"

Garchomp read the placard aloud. The costume was programmed with Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Rage, Slash and Outrage.

Cynthia shook her head. "Nope. No coverage against ice-type attacks." A Weavile cosplayer followed by a real one passed by her. "And we'll need it."

Garchomp sighed and examined the next crate. "How about this one?" she asked.

"What's it got?" Cynthia replied, examining another crate.

"You first."

Cynthia read her placard first. The costume she had chosen had Earth Power, Sandstorm, Flamethrower, Brick Break, Draco Meteor and Dragon Pulse as its moveset.

Garchomp shrugged and read her placard. Her costume's moveset was Stone Edge, Shadow Claw, Swift, Flamethrower, Giga Impact and Dragon Rush.

Garchomp placed a claw on her chin. "Hmm. Both of the costumes have attacks which counter the ice type weakness," she said, tapping her chin in thought. "But the Sandstorm in the first moveset seals it for me. Sand veil will really help in the battle."

Cynthia nodded. "Well, I'll take the advice of a real Garchomp," she said, picking up the crate and heading to the checkout table.

When she got there, she stood in line behind a man holding another crate. She hoped no one would give her a hard time about her costume choice.

She placed her crate on the table as the employee scanned it and her ID card. "Enjoy your costume, Champion Cynthia," the employee said. "The dressing rooms are at the rear of the ballroom. Or you can take the costumes up to your room."

Cynthia smirked; she had some "other" uses for the costume. "Thanks, I will," she said. She and Garchomp headed over to the dressing rooms and stood in line. Luckily there were several stalls, which helped keep the lines short. And of course, quite a few cosplayers chose to change in their rooms.

Garchomp looked around. "We're going to have some really stiff competition," she said, watching a Milotic cosplayer slither out of one of the stalls.

The stall for Cynthia's line opened and a Zangoose cosplayer came out. At the same time, the stall to the right opened, revealing a Seviper cosplayer.

The Zangoose cosplayer glared at the Seviper cosplayer. "We have a score to settle," he said coldly. The costume was so sophisticated that the mouth moved in sync with the words.

"Bring it!" The Seviper cosplayer replied, flicking his forked tongue out.

The two then headed off to the on-site battle arena. Several other undressed cosplayers looked at the two. They wondered if they were merely acting or if the two actually had a rivalry…and happened to choose the appropriate costumes.

Garchomp looked at the two with admiration. "Wow. They even _act_ like the real thing!" she said. "_I hope Cynthia doesn't start thinking like a Garchomp,_" she thought. "_Actually, if Cynthia starts thinking like a real Garchomp, then_…" She then smiled deviously and rubbed her two hand-claws together.

Cynthia was next in line and she disappeared into the stall with her costume. Garchomp waited outside with a smirk on her face.

* * *

Meanwhile, James – in a full Breloom costume – was sitting in the lobby along with some other costumed cosplayers. Several curious tourists took pictures of him and the others. In fact, some of them mistook the cosplayers for real pokémon and vice versa.

"What's taking Cynthia so long?" Wukong asked. He then examined James head to toe. He had to admit, Zekurom Industries really had an eye for detail; James looked exactly like a real Breloom – save for the fact that a real one was 3'11" and James stood at 5'6". Of course, he wanted to see the costume's much hyped "true attack system" but it was too crowded to do so.

"Dunno," James replied. "It shouldn't take too long to put the costume on."

"I hope you read the instruction manual."

"Uh oh."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the dressing room, Cynthia was reading the costume's instruction manual – like she had been for the past fifteen minutes. A box for her clothing was sitting on the bench. A black wetsuit-like garment with several silver discs stuck to it was hanging from a hook on the door. A small power cable trailing over the stall was connected to it.

"The rulebook is shorter than this manual," she muttered, closing the manual and placing it aside. She then stripped off her clothing, including her hair decorations and tossed them in the clothing box. She then donned the suit (which was actually a men's size thanks to her six foot frame). The suit in question was a skintight bodysuit that allowed the user to control the costume with their thoughts. This technology was first developed in Japan by the famed cyberneticist Hikari Oku. However, it was refined and modified for the 2021 costumes by Kevin Gantz, one of the many scientists who worked in the 2021 research division. Obviously, the suit was named after the two but no one ever called it the "Oku-Gantz suit"; it was too long. So they usually called it the "Gantz suit".

As soon as she zipped up the suit, several electric blue lines lit up on the feet of the bodysuit and the middle of discs suddenly glowed blue while the power cable automatically disengaged. "Gantz has really strange fashion sense."

To her surprise, she suddenly felt stronger and her reflexes seemed to be sharper. Not to mention there seemed to be a shimmering field around her. The Gantz suit projected a concussion dampening field that protected the wearer from injury and it also slightly augmented their strength and reflexes. The catch was that the integrated battery could only hold a charge of roughly thirty seconds. Luckily, it can hook up with the costume's palladium-hydrogen reactor which granted it an essentially indefinite power supply. At least as long as there is fuel left in the tank.

As she looked in the mirror she had to admit she looked like the spitting image of a certain fictional female bounty hunter – right down to the blond hair and toned, yet feminine body. All she was missing was the armored Power Suit.

Cynthia grabbed the fueling line that dangled over the edge of the stall and plugged it into the valve hidden under the costume's lower right spike on its thighs. The miracle of poké ball technology allowed the guts of the costume to be safely tucked away in a space not much larger than a beer can. Thanks to an ingenious teleportation system and an advanced electrolysis system, the costume can actually divert a portion of water the wearer drinks and convert it into hydrogen to fuel the costume.

As soon as the line popped out, indicating that the tanks were full, she stepped into the lower part of the costume. To her surprise, it started expanding upwards until it reached her armpits. "Wow, this is seriously high-tech."

The lights on the Gantz suit winked out, indicating that the suit's batteries were drained but that was irrelevant. Cynthia then donned the middle part of the costume – which looked a lot like a jacket. Almost immediately, the "jacket" and lower part of the costume seamlessly merged together and closed up with the soft _click_ of latches engaging.

After a bit of struggling (thanks to the fact that she now only had two hand-claws like a real Garchomp) she managed to get the headpiece on. Again, she was treated to a symphony of clicks as the latches on the costume engaged.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her Garchomp would be pleased; she looked exactly like the real deal!

"Wait till the others see me," Cynthia said with a chuckle. She then stepped forward to open the door but she was not used to being a Garchomp and she ended up falling backwards and hitting the costume's tail on the bench. To her surprise, she actually felt the impact…but she had no actual tail.

She then got up and tried to knock on the door, only for the fin on her right arm to glow white and accidentally smash the door with a Brick Break. She then waddled out of the room.

"Sorry about the mess," Cynthia said sheepishly.

The representative rolled her eyes and gestured for some employees to come over. One of them unscrewed the remnants of the door while others got to work cleaning up the rubble and yet others installed a new door. Judging from the large number of doors and prefab wall panels leaning against another wall, mishaps like Cynthia's were not uncommon.

Cynthia then stumbled towards the ballroom exit; in the process, she tripped and landed flat on her face. A Flygon cosplayer helped her get back on her feet. A shimmering blue Aura Sphere accidentally fired by a Togetic cosplayer narrowly missed the two. Luckily, as this hotel catered to pokémon trainers and coordinators, shield generators and emitters lined nearly every square inch.

"Man that cosplayer's a disgrace to Garchomp and Garchomp trainers," another cosplayer said. This cosplayer was, not surprisingly, dressed as a Garchomp.

Her friend – dressed as a Salamence – nodded.

Little did they know that cosplayer was the premier Garchomp trainer – Sinnoh champion Cynthia.

Her own Garchomp facepalmed and followed her trainer.

* * *

Lugia had finished his hot bath and was lounging on the couch. He was reading Palkia's abandoned issue of _Champion_. Speaking of Palkia, he had been sent on an errand a few minutes ago by Lugia. The two Legendaries always had a few thousand poké around for emergency purposes.

The door opened and Palkia tossed the plastic bag on the ground. He did not look pleased. "If I see my face in _Champion_ with the headline 'Master of Space needs diapers?' You. Will. Pay."

Lugia shrugged. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!"

"How about we just forget this whole thing, meet up with James, Mac and Cynthia, run through a practice battle and have dinner?"

"I'd like to finish up my swordsmanship exercises first," Palkia said, turning the TV on to the Swordsmanship Today and drawing his spacial sword.

Lugia said nothing as he retreated to the other room to read his magazine.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cynthia and Garchomp had met up with James and Wukong in the lobby, which was now crowded with costumed cosplayers, real pokémon and curious tourists.

"Nice costume, Cynthia," James said.

"I'm her Garchomp," Garchomp replied. She then pointed to the Garchomp next to her. "That's Cynthia. She's the Garchomp who's not wearing a fedora."

Cynthia nodded. "So what do you think?"

"Very realistic," James said. "Oh no, I need to-AACHOO!"

Unfortunately, since James was still a novice at being a Breloom, a puff of golden dust shot out from his mushroom cap as he sneezed and involuntarily used Stun Spore.

The crowd backed away from him, lest he paralyze or poison them.

Cynthia backed away from the cloud of spores but she was not quite used to being a Garchomp yet and she ended up falling on her face – again – and landing on the tail of a Sazandora.

The Sazandora turned to the Garchomp and roared.

"Oh hell no," James said. The costume mirrored the shocked expression on his face.

Everyone held their breath as Sazandora were very violent pokémon and it took very little to cause them to start attacking.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the Sazandora spoke. It spoke in a very coarse male voice that sounded like it had been smoking most of its life. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," Cynthia replied, picking herself up.

"Look at me asshole!"

Cynthia glared at the Sazandora. "Sorry," she said. She did a poor job at hiding her anger.

Unfortunately, the Sazandora interpreted this as an insult and shoved her with one of his hand-heads.

Cynthia staggered back and growled at the Sazandora. Several people backed away as the growl that issued from the costume was frighteningly realistic.

"You wanna fight, bring it," the Sazandora replied, beckoning with one of his hand-heads.

"Now there's no need for violence," James said, getting between the two. Wukong stood alongside his trainer.

"Fuck off!" the Sazandora shouted, snapping one of his hand-heads at James. He then charged up a glowing blue sphere of energy between his two hand-heads and aimed at Cynthia.

By now, people were starting to run as they did not want to get caught in the crossfire of the battle.

"Call pokémon control!" an old man shouted, running from the two.

The Sazandora's charge instantly vanished. "I'm a cosplayer, douchebag!"

"Don't use that word around me!"

The Sazandora cosplayer hovered up to the man and glared at him. He then extended a hand-head and snapped it menacingly. "Stay out of this!" he growled. "Unless you want to eat a Charge Beam."

The man ran away.

"Now where were we? Oh, that's-"

He never got the chance to finish as Cynthia jumped into the air, her costume's right arm fin glowing and smashed it into his head with a Brick Break. "You want a fight, you got it!" she cried.

The cosplayer struck the ground and tried to bite Cynthia with one of his hand-heads but she ducked it. His other hand-head connected with the fin on her right arm.

She screamed in pain as the bite connected…despite the fact that the fin was part of the costume and not actually part of her body.

James frowned. "That does it. I'm taking him down before he hurts someone else or wrecks the hotel."

"James, wait!" Wukong shouted. It was too late; James had already leapt into the air attempting a Dynamic Punch. His right fist was wreathed in a brilliant white glow. Suddenly, the glow vanished and his tail suddenly turned a steely metallic grey with a heavy _clunk_, like the sound of a blast door closing; he had inadvertently switched to Iron Tail.

"James! Flip! You're not going to hit him!" Wukong screamed. He had to shout over the sound of a Charge Beam striking Cynthia – to no effect – and Cynthia's retaliatory Dragon Pulse striking the wall and being dissipated with a crackling buzz. Cynthia tripped and fell again as she tried to dodge the black helical blast of a Dark Pulse, which narrowly missed a bystander who screamed and ran away. While she was lying on her side, she fired another Dragon Pulse his way.

James did a flip but in the process of doing so he accidentally switched to Seed Bomb and spat out a white sphere that burst into many smaller white globules that rained down at near point-blank range on the Sazandora.

The Sazandora screeched in agony as the globules detonated. At the same time, Cynthia leapt into the air and tried using a dual Brick Break but at the last moment, she accidentally switched to Dragon Pulse. A shimmering green orb appeared in front of her mouth and she essentially spat it into the Sazandora at point blank range. A massive explosion echoed through the air as the sphere struck.

The Sazandora screeched again as he sank to the ground and stayed there. Cynthia quickly ran over to the downed Sazandora and quickly ran her claws over the costume looking for the release switch. She needed to get the man out of the costume before it rebooted and the fight started over again. She found the release button on the left, hidden underneath the neck frill of the costume. She heard several soft clicks as the latches on the costume disengaged. With the help of Wukong, she removed the costume, revealing a bald, scarred up man wearing the same type of black bodysuit that she was wearing under her costume.

The man was completely unhurt, thanks to concussion dampening field projected by the bodysuit and the shield generator in the suit. He then glared at Cynthia. "You! Apologize!"

He then stomped towards her only to be stopped by James, who had the roiling green sphere of an Energy Ball cradled in front of his open mouth.

The man quickly backed down; the concussion dampening field was only effective against pokémon attacks when paired with the shield generator in the costume. An Energy Ball attack without the costume's shield generator could kill him.

An Officer Jenny and several representatives from Zekurom Industries finally arrived.

"You are under arrest for assault and battery!" Officer Jenny shouted. She had her taser out. "Put your hands up!"

The man smirked and approached her.

The next ten seconds were a blur. The man was tasered, stripped naked, handcuffed and led out of the hotel.

The industry representatives picked up the costume and bodysuit and carried them off to be cleaned.

James fired his Energy Ball at a wall; thanks to the hotel's shielded walls, no damage occurred. "Well, that's a relief."

Wukong shook his head. "Maybe it's just me but those costumes are _too_ realistic. I mean that guy had the personality of a real Sazandora."

"Nah, he was just a prick," Cynthia replied.

"Speaking of pricks…"

"Don't even go there!" James scolded. Yes, he had seen the man's genitals when he was led from the hotel but he had the decorum not to say anything about it.

"Yeah and I need to go to the bathroom," Cynthia said. She then tried to take off her costume's headpiece only to find out that it remained fixed in place. "Uh guys, some help?"

Wukong quickly ran his hands over the costume. To onlookers, it looked like he was fondling the Sinnoh champion-turned-Garchomp but he was really looking for a release switch.

He then found the release button hidden underneath a panel on her side. When he pressed it, the latches on the costume disengaged with a symphony of clicks and whirring electric motors as the lower part of the costume shrank back down to size, disengaged from the headpiece and the "zipper" on the "jacket" of the costume opened. Cynthia then stepped out of the lower part of the costume, shucked her jacket and took off the headpiece, which she placed on an end table.

Suddenly, it seemed like a magnet was turned on and hordes of adoring fans flocked towards her. Quite a bit of the fans were in costume as well. Luckily, James and Wukong managed to sneak away before they were swarmed by the crowd.

The six-foot blond form of Cynthia Shirona was soon buried by the crowd. Several members of the crowd were instantly enamored with her; the skintight black body suit made her even sexier. Some in the crowd even fainted from her beauty or were dragged off by their love interests before they could come onto her. Some of them tried – and failed – to suppress laughs when they realized it was Cynthia inside that costume; apparently, the tabloid reports were true; she had a hardcore Garchomp fetish.

A nearby bellhop stopped to ogle Cynthia's body. Luckily, the luggage in the cart hid the growing bulge in his pants.

She then looked at the mass of adoring fans, many of whom were waving pens, pencils, notepads and other things for her to autograph at her. She facepalmed.

"Help me," she muttered as she autographed a little girl's Garchomp plushie.

* * *

James and Wukong ran into Garchomp by check in desk. She had a basket full of pokéblocks slung over one arm. Several other guests with bags of merchandise from the gift shop or other assorted goods passed by her.

"Pokéblock?" Garchomp asked, spearing a red one and gulping it down. "Made them myself."

James frowned. "Erm, they're for pokémon."

Garchomp smirked. "Well, you're a pokémon now, so try it."

James chuckled. "I may look like a Breloom, attack like a Breloom and even smell like a Breloom but I am not a Breloom."

"Oh come, James, it's not going to hurt you," Wukong said. He reached into the basket and pulled out a gold one and munched on it. "Mmm. Nice and cooling with a slight sourness. Besides, why not go all the way?"

James shrugged. "Fine but just this once." He reached into the basket and grabbed a black pokéblock. It was no small task for him to hold it without dropping it thanks to his two clawed hands but he managed.

He then took it to his mouth and swallowed. Amazingly, when he bit into the block with his costume's mouth, the piece appeared in his own mouth. Suddenly, he screwed up his face as his mouth was assaulted by an indescribably horrible flavor. He tossed the half eaten block into the nearest garbage can and choked down the rest in his mouth. "Gross!"

"Was it that bad?" Garchomp asked, eating another red pokéblock.

"It tastes like a dead Zigzagoon! Get me something to kill the taste!"

Garchomp speared a yellow pokéblock and James immediately ate it off her claw. She wondered how James knew what a dead Zigzagoon tasted like.

"That's better," James said. The sourness of the pokéblock was not offensive but actually quite refreshing.

Wukong ate another gold pokéblock and noticed Cynthia getting swarmed by the horde of adoring fans. "Shouldn't we help Cynthia?"

Garchomp shook her head and popped another red pokéblock into her mouth. "She'll be fine."

The two then watched as Cynthia was practically buried under the crowd of screaming fans and crawled out beneath them. She then bolted for the bathroom.

Several minutes later, Cynthia returned from the bathroom. She looked utterly frazzled. "That's it! I'm not taking off this costume unless I have some privacy."

She then grabbed her discarded costume and quickly donned it, morphing back into a Garchomp.

At this time, Palkia and Lugia emerged from the elevators and met up with them.

"So we heading to the battle arena?" Lugia asked.

"Let's see if Johnny Mac and the others want to come," James said.

As soon as he spoke, Mac, Ferrum, Quartzon, Reshiram and Zekrom emerged from two elevators.

"Great! Let's head to the arena!"

The group then headed towards the arena.

* * *

When the group arrived, the reinforced glass doors automatically slid back, admitting a brisk and warm sea breeze.

The hotel's arena was actually a massive field built on an oil rig-like platform over the sea. Two towers containing strobe lights to warn approaching ships away from the platform rose from the rear fence. Several designated battle areas like the ones found in public parks dotted the area. Several benches, garbage cans, water fountains and decorative lamp posts were scattered along the brick walkways. Several assorted salt resistant plants were growing in the field. Some pay binoculars lined the rear fence.

Several people were busy having battles, running around or simply enjoying the sea breeze. Not surprisingly, most of the "pokémon" battling were actually costumed cosplayers.

Palkia sat in a bench and leaned back. "Well, how about that practice battle?"

"Sure!" Cynthia said, stepping into a small arena.

James followed suit.

"This is a one on one battle between Champion Cynthia and Trainer James," Lugia said, getting onto the referee stand.

As soon as he spoke, all heads turned towards him and the battling stopped.

Suddenly a cacophony of voices rang out.

"Oh! The Sinnoh champion's here!"

"Squee! Oh, she's here!"

"Maybe I can get a few tips from her!"

"Maybe she'll give me an autograph!"

Suddenly, the scene in the lobby began to repeat itself as a veritable tsunami of guests surged towards the battle area that James and Cynthia had occupied. Most of them were expecting the pokémon to be battling each other – a change from the cosplayer battles they had previously seen.

Thinking quickly, Palkia blocked their way. "Cynthia is busy right now. Please leave her alone."

Thankfully the crowd stopped moving forward, seeing as they were speaking to the Master of Space who could, if he wanted, kill them instantly or teleport them – naked – to Times Square, thousands of miles away.

"Okay, shall we continue?" Cynthia asked.

Garchomp adjusted her fedora and nodded. "Wukong? Ready?"

Wukong nodded. "Ready, Garchomp!"

At those words the spectators sighed. It was going to be another cosplayer battle. Granted, cosplayer battles looked exactly like real pokémon battles but at their core they were just two cosplayers in high-tech costumes trying to force the other's costume to shut down by pummeling each other with simulated pokémon attacks. Of course, as evidenced by the safety video all cosplayers were forced to watch before renting the costumes (a skinny guy in a lab coat putting on the Drapion costume and chopping up a new car into a scrap metal and a guy in a Lucario costume shooting an Aura Sphere at a ballistics gel dummy and blowing its head and half of its torso into a shower of ludicrous gibs were just some of the notable demonstrations), these costumes could be extremely dangerous if misused.

"This battle will now begin!" Lugia shouted.

"Cynthia! Use Sandstorm!" Garchomp ordered.

Of course, seeing as Garchomp already spoke English, the headset was pretty much redundant but she still wore it anyways.

Cynthia nodded and twirled her right arm as if she were holding a lasso. Almost immediately there was the shrieking of wind followed by a massive wall of sand. The sand was contained by the shields built into the arena but it still rendered the two combatants invisible to the crowd and their "trainers".

"James!" Wukong shouted. "Break through with Energy Ball!"

James opened his mouth and a roiling green sphere formed in front of his mouth. Oddly enough, despite the fact that it was the costume's advanced technology generating the attack, he could actually feel the power running through him as it charged. It was not painful; on the contrary, it was quite pleasant. He attributed it to the Gantz body suit and its mind-link capabilities.

James then fired the energy ball blind. He was rewarded with a grunt of pain as the ball smashed through the veil of sand and struck Cynthia with a loud boom, enveloping her in a cloud of black smoke tinged with green sparkles. The veil of sand immediately dispersed and rained down on the battlefield.

"Charge while she's stunned and hit with a Sky Uppercut!" Wukong ordered.

"Hang in there, Cynthia!" Garchomp shouted. To her surprise, she realized she was starting to sound like Cynthia! Maybe Cynthia's battling style was starting to rub off on her.

Cynthia shook her head. Even with the costume's shield generator and the Gantz suit's concussion dampening field, the Energy Ball attack still stunned her. And she had to wait for the costume to clear itself. She then saw James charging towards him with his right hand drawn back and wreathed in a white glow and preparing to deliver a Sky Uppercut.

Garchomp then saw the gap close between James and Cynthia. Ten meters, then down to nine, eight... She realized that all of her other attacks would take too long. "Cynthia! Block and hit with a Brick Break!"

Cynthia used her left arm fin to parry the attack and her right arm fin glowed. She then smashed it into James, sending him flying into the air. She had barely even thought about it and she had managed to execute a perfect Brick Break. She smiled; the expression mirrored itself on her costume. Maybe she would get the hang of not only training a Garchomp but actually _being_ one.

"Follow up with a Dragon Pulse!"

James quickly did a flip and landed on his feet. At the same time, Cynthia opened her mouth and the viridian sphere of a Dragon Pulse began to grow in front of her open mouth.

As the sphere of Dragon Pulse grew in front of her open mouth, James's jaw dropped. Wukong was taking too long to think of a counter! He'd have to take things into his own hands! Without waiting for his "trainer's" command, his mouth opened and the roiling green sphere of Energy Ball materialized in front of his mouth.

"James! What are you doing!" Wukong shouted.

"Oh, it looks like James has decided to disobey his 'trainer'!" Lugia said. By this time, the battlers had attracted a large crowd, which was being held back by Palkia, Resihram, Zekrom, Johnny Mac and Ferrum.

James ignored Wukong and shot the energy ball at Cynthia, who released her own sphere. The two collided with an explosion that rattled everyone's teeth – even through the shields that kept the spectators from getting liquefied by the shockwave.

James staggered back as the shockwave struck him. Cynthia did the same. Both of them were breathing heavily as a result of the mind-link with their costumes.

Wukong quickly analyzed the situation. "James! Stun Spore!"

James's mushroom cap vibrated, sending billowing orange clouds of the spores towards Cynthia. Again, the moves felt so natural – like they were really part of him and not generated from some costume.

"Cynthia! Burn through with Flamethrower!" Garchomp shouted as she adjusted her fedora.

"Dodge!" Wukong bellowed.

James leapt into the air as Cynthia unleashed a torrent of red fire, causing a small explosion as the dust burst into flame. The flames licked at his feet but he had cleared both the explosion and jet of fire.

"Iron Tail!"

James's tail turned to into a deadly looking mace with a heavy _clunk_. He was now at least ten feet above Cynthia and falling quickly.

Garchomp glanced. She had to think fast or else James will reach the proper distance, flip and deliver a punishing blow with his now mace-like tail. She suddenly recalled what Cynthia did in a previous battle similar to this one. "Cynthia! Flamethrower! Full power!"

Cynthia took a deep breath and opened her mouth as a roiling orange-red fireball began to grow in her throat. James was getting closer as she charged her attack. Six feet, five feet…

And just when the Iron Tail was about to connect, she unleashed it. A veritable pillar of orange-red fire engulfed James; the fire actually continued upwards for several feet until it harmlessly splashed against the arena's shield.

The spectators held their breath as the column of fire continued swirling around James.

When the column of fire died, James collapsed to the floor. His costume was scorched but otherwise undamaged and he lay still as his costume rebooted itself.

Lugia raised his right wing and addressed the crowd. "James is unable to battle. Victory goes to Garchomp and her pokémon, Cynthia!"

Everyone laughed at the last part.

Wukong entered the arena and helped James up. "Nice battling. Now let's go and dinner a bite to eat at the café."

"I'm not hungry," Lugia said.

Palkia shrugged. "Sure, see you in a little bit."

"We'll meet up with you in a little bit," Garchomp said.

Cynthia and James exited the arena. This time, a Blaziken cosplayer and a Torterra cosplayer faced off against each other. Their trainers were a real Blaziken and a real Swampert, respectively.

The group headed to the lobby, ignoring the sounds of battle coming from the arenas.

* * *

After a few minutes, Cynthia and Garchomp were inside their room with Lugia. He was lounging on the couch, having a bottle of lime soda.

Cynthia took off her costume and placed it on her bed in the other room. Garchomp took off her fedora and radio headset and placed it on the end table. Cynthia closed the door to give herself some privacy.

As Cynthia stretched out her sore muscles, Garchomp could not help but ogle at how the skintight Gantz suit showed off her trainer's sexily toned muscles – especially her buttocks. She wiped off a bit of drool that came from the corner of her mouth.

"Garchomp, could you throw my clothes in the bathtub?" Cynthia asked, continuing her stretches.

Garchomp immediately snapped out of her trance and exited the room. Cynthia then got a look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, the bodysuit accentuated her toned muscles and her long, blond hair. She stopped her stretches for a bit to blow a kiss at the mirror.

The door then opened with Garchomp carrying Cynthia's clothes in the metal box she had put them in when she first donned the costume. Garchomp then entered the bathroom and tipped the whole box into the bathtub and turned on the water and poured in some shampoo. The water actually began to turn black as the ash and soot caked onto the clothes during their escape from Altomare began to loosen.

Garchomp then stuck her head out the bathroom door. "Cynthia, I just realized something."

"What?" Cynthia replied, finishing up her stretches.

"You can't take off your costume in public. And you can't be referred to as 'Champion Cynthia'."

Cynthia scowled. "I noticed that."

"So how will battle announcements be made?"

Cynthia ignored Garchomp and flopped down on the bed. Her Garchomp was really enjoying her role as the "trainer". Not that she wasn't enjoying her role as the "pokémon".

* * *

James exited the bathroom – which had a line of costumed cosplayers in front of it. His costume was being held by Johnny Mac. He knew that the Gantz suit's formfitting shape was to ensure maximum contact with the skin and allow communications with the costume itself but he could not shake the feeling that the suit's formfitting shape had other purposes.

"Something bothering you?" Mac asked.

James looked at the suit. It was not as flattering on him as it was Cynthia thanks to his lack of muscle. "Gantz was one kinky dude. I mean, look at this suit! It's practically a high-tech gimp suit!"

Johnny Mac laughed as James quickly transformed back into a Breloom and returned to the café.

* * *

Cynthia and Garchomp left the room. Lugia was on the couch, apparently asleep. As soon as he heard the door click shut, he immediately leapt from the couch and started digging through his messenger bag. He found one of his diapers and his container of baby powder. He opened the diaper, lay down on it and powdered himself. He then quickly got the diaper fastened around his waist, making sure to get the third tab for his tail. He sighed; he loved how a fresh diaper felt against his skin. He had to admit, the diapers he wore were pretty comfortable. Granted, some might think it strange but Lugia figured that if he has to wear diapers, he might as well enjoy them or at least have a little fun with them.

He then stood in front of the mirror in the main room. The diaper he was wearing had little sky blue reptilian claw prints all over it and the tapes were sky blue. He chuckled; diapers made him a lot cuter and more childish.

He then decided to pose in front of the mirror just for giggles. Hey, he had just escaped an aerial bombing; he needed to goof off a bit.

He was so into his posing that he failed to hear the door click open.

* * *

Cynthia and Garchomp had decided to return to the room to fetch Cynthia's costume and Garchomp's fedora. They were instead treated to the sight of Lugia in a diaper and trying his best to look childish/cute in front of a mirror.

Cynthia's jaw dropped as she stared at Lugia in shock and horror. Garchomp, on the other hand, was doing a horrible job at trying to hold in her laughter.

Cynthia entered her bedroom and closed the door. Garchomp was still staring at and laughing at the diapered Lugia.

"Strut that diaper, baby!" Garchomp said with a grin. She then collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically.

Lugia turned his head towards the noise and spotted Garchomp practically convulsing with laughter. This caused him to turn bright red.

"G…G…Garchomp…What are you doing here?" he stammered. He backed away behind the table in a vain attempt to hide the diaper he was wearing.

Garchomp was too busy laughing to hear him.

Just then the bedroom door opened and Cynthia in full costume exited with Garchomp's fedora in hand. "Okay, let's get dinner and give Lugia some privacy," she said quickly before grabbing Garchomp and bolting out of the room.

Lugia shrugged and decided to watch TV. He had to go to the bathroom thanks to drinking all that soda but he decided to ignore it; after all, he was wearing a diaper. On second thought, he liked wearing them but hated using them. And of course, getting diaper rash was a good way to cramp his vacation – and make him the laughingstock of the group.

He bolted from the couch and ran into the bathroom where the sound of the diaper's tapes being opened was heard.

* * *

The rest of the group was waiting by the restaurant entrance. Several costumed patrons filed past the group into the café. A sign with letters designed to evoke a hybrid of ancient Rome and the Ruins of Alph hung above the glass fronted door, which was flanked by two columns.

Palkia examined the columns. He subtly grew a little larger so he could examine the volutes on top of them. He shook his head in disgust; the columns were cast of concrete – including the volutes. Not only that, the designers had the bad taste to cover it in stucco that badly mimicked the legendary green and white veined marble of Fiore. "For a nice hotel, some of the furnishings are really tacky. I mean, this fake marble wouldn't be out of place in a trashy Vegas hotel."

Ferrum said nothing for he was perched on a bench and apparently asleep. Quartzon was attempting to engage Reshiram in conversation, to no avail.

Johnny Mac was playing with his telekinetic powers by levitating a coin. He casually pointed his finger and launched the coin into a light fixture. "What are Cynthia and Garchomp doing?"

Zekrom belched as she finished off her soda from a vending machine. "Probably grinding or fingering each other in bed."

She said it loudly enough that several passersby stared at her. Wukong and James gave her a dirty look.

Luckily Quartzon was unable to hear Zekrom's profane comment. Wukong and James were not going to enjoy explaining lesbian sex to her.

James and Wukong then got back onto the topic of pokémon battling tips.

"When are we going to get food?" Palkia asked. His stomach gave off a loud growl as he shrunk back down to size.

"When Cynthia and Garchomp return," Reshiram replied.

As if on cue, Cynthia – in full Garchomp costume – and her Garchomp arrived.

"Well, let's get dinner," Cynthia said, entering the restaurant.

* * *

Not surprisingly the restaurant was packed. The strains of easy listening music percolated through the speaker system. The group was sitting in the waiting area which was decorated quite nicely with "Arceus white" tiles and some elegant potted plants and even a small fountain that depicted a Gardevoir as the goddess of victory, Nike.

James tapped Palkia on the shoulder. "Hey, Pallie, is that your sculpture?" he asked pointing to a six foot tall heroic nude statue of Sootopolis City gym leader Juan in the center of the room. Luckily, it was oriented so the genitals were not facing the entrance A Milotic was coiled around his nude form and it looked like both of them were rising from water thanks to the splash carved at Juan's feet. A plaque at the foot of the statue identified the creator as certain "Victor Winstrate" and the material as genuine Greek marble.

"I don't do heroic nudes but I have to admit, it is pretty nice. Victor Winstrate captured the fluid splash of water in his sculpture. Not to mention, look how realistic the statue is; it's like Juan was transformed into marble."

"Yeah while he was naked!" Zekrom quipped.

Reshiram facepalmed. His counterpart had no appreciation of the arts.

Johnny Mac threw a coin into the fountain in the corner of the room.

Palkia rolled his eyes at the Unown hieroglyphs on the faux-weathered marble walls. The hieroglyphs were actually meaningless gibberish. _"The least they could do is make the hieroglyphs say something," _he thought.

Johnny Mac was leaning against a sign that read "_Cosplayers are forbidden from using their attacks."_

"Welcome, how may I serve you?" a waiter asked.

"Table for six," Johnny Mac said.

"Follow me please."

The group followed the waiter through the crowded restaurant. The sound of clinking plates and conversation drowned out the easy listening music.

"Please, sit down."

The group sat down at a faux weathered stone table. Or at least those who could sit down did. A waiter passed out plates of pokémon food to Ferrum, Quartzon, Wukong, Garchomp and Cynthia. Another waiter placed a basket of bread on the table. A third waiter filled their glasses with ice water.

Cynthia handed the plate back but it suddenly disappeared and appeared in front of Palkia. Garchomp handed the plate back as well. Ferrum and Quartzon on the other hand were devouring the food.

James grabbed a piece of bread and stuck it in his mouth and chewed. Again, thanks to a miniaturized teleportation system, the costume's mouth essentially became his mouth.

Cynthia and Garchomp each speared a piece of bread and fed each other.

"Aww, how cute!" Reshiram said as he watched them feed each other.

Zekrom rolled her eyes and drank some water.

Wukong was busy eating the bread.

A man with brilliant green hair approached them. "Hello. My name is Antro. How may I serve you?"

"Just give us a moment," Johnny Mac said, levitating the menu in front of his face while sipping some water.

"Some Lavaridge beer for me," Zekrom said. "And California abalone platter."

"Zek! Do you know how much that costs!" Reshiram hissed at his counterpart. He was eating the bread.

Zekrom shrugged her armored shoulders.

"Zekrom, we're running low on money. Buy the cheapest food you can," Palkia said. He was actually eating Cynthia's share of pokémon food. Granted, it didn't taste that good but he was more concerned about their financial situation than treating his tastebuds.

Antro looked at the Zekrom, Reshiram and Palkia. "I will be back with the Lavaridge beer."

Zekrom glared at Palkia but nevertheless continued looking at the menu.

Several minutes, three refills of water and a new breadbasket later, Zekrom's bottle of beer arrived. She eschewed the glass of ice it came with and started drinking it straight from the bottle.

"Are we ready to order?" Antro asked.

"Yes, we are," Mac said. The group handed back their menus.

"Well, all we can do is wait for the food," Garchomp said, adjusting her fedora.

Zekrom belched as she finished off her beer. This earned a facepalm from Reshiram and several stares from the others.

Many minutes later, their food arrived: pokémon food for Ferrum, Quartzon and Palkia; bread for Wukong; sashimi to be shared by Garchomp and Cynthia; blackened catfish for Reshiram; roast Pidgey breast in red wine sauce for James; pasta with marinara sauce for Zekrom and a five ounce grilled Tauros steak with Kentucky bourbon sauce for Mac.

"Well… Let's eat!" Reshiram said. His mouth watered at the savory flavor of the food.

James tentatively cut his roast Pidgey breast. "I hope this doesn't wreck the costume," he muttered, placing a piece in his mouth.

"Hey, it practically got blowtorched during the battle with Cynthia. A little food's not going to hurt it," Palkia said. Since he was eating pokémon food and not human food, he was permitted to use his hands. Granted, he did know how to use a knife and fork (Arceus insisted that each Legendary learn to use utensils properly).

"I hope you're right; I don't wanna be staring down a six figure repair bill."

The rest of the dinner was uneventful save for a Gardevoir cosplayer being asked to leave for using the costume's Psychic attack to remove a waitress's dress – much to the amusement of his slightly inebriated friends who hooted and clapped.

After paying for the meal – an act that left the four Legendaries with just enough cash for the next two days – the group sat in the lobby. By this time, many of the gawkers and tourists were starting to head home but there were still many of them present.

"So now what? We've got three hours to kill before I head off to bed," Palkia said.

"Well, I guess we can watch more battles or participate," Wukong said.

James looked at the costumed cosplayers around him. "Well, I could use the practice."

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do," Cynthia added.

The group then headed to the arena out back.

* * *

When they arrived at the arena, it was the same as it was a few hours ago only not as crowded. Not to mention bright metal-halide lamps lit up the area with intense white light. The ocean breeze was cooler than before but it was not uncomfortable.

Palkia suddenly had a flash of inspiration as he recalled seeing street performers all over Lilycove City. "Garchomp, can I borrow your fedora?" Palkia asked.

"Why?" Garchomp asked.

"I'm going to need it to earn a bit of cash."

Garchomp nodded and handed him the fedora. "If you ruin or lose that; you're buying me another one!"

"Don't worry about it."

Palkia stepped into one of the arenas to practice his swordsmanship and earn some cash.

"Well, let's do it," James said. He got into one of the empty arenas and waited for his opponent. Wukong stepped into the trainer's box while Cynthia stepped into the referee's box. Quartzon and her Garchomp sat on a bench near James's arena. Zekrom had decided to step into one of the arenas for a battle of her own. Johnny Mac, Ferrum and Reshiram were her spectators.

James didn't have long to wait as a Flygon cosplayer and her "trainer" – a real Flygon – stepped up to the challenge.

Cynthia looked at the two competitors. "This is a one-on-one battle between James and his trainer, Wukong and Fiora and her trainer, Aria!"

"Start off with a Fire Blast!" Aria the Flygon shouted.

Fiora complied as a roiling orange-red fireball began to form in her open mouth.

"Dodge and counter with an Energy Ball!" Wukong shouted.

James shot about ten feet straight up as the cruciform fireball passed underneath him and spattered harmlessly against the shield. He opened his mouth and the roiling viridian sphere of Energy Ball began to form in front of his open mouth. As he was falling, he shot it at Fiora.

"Protect!" Aria shouted, gesturing with her right arm.

Fiora shimmered green for a moment before a green shield appeared in front of her. The sphere struck the barrier with a thunderous _boom_.

"Give her your best Dynamic Punch!" Wukong shouted

James landed and drew his right fist back, glowing with white energy. He charged towards Fiora.

Aria smirked. This was just what she was planning. "Faint Attack!"

Fiora leapt into the air. Her costume's flight system was disabled but she could still leap very high and glide down.

James's fist connected with empty air and lost its white glow. He looked around for her but the glare of the metal halide lamps made it hard to see into the night sky.

Wukong saw something rapidly descending. "James-"

He was cut off as Fiora struck James with a Faint Attack, plunging down from the sky like a black meteor and driving him into the ground.

Fiora kicked off James as the black aura around her disappeared. James lay in a small crater and tried to push himself back to his feet.

"Finish it with Earthquake!" Aria shouted, flapping her wings.

Fiora glowed white as she leapt into the air and did diving stomp into the ground with a sound like a building collapsing. A visible white shockwave sped across the area, causing the pebbles to jitter. Even the spectators outside the protective barrier felt the shudder.

"James! Get up!" Wukong pleaded. His hands were clenched into fists. He hoped this would not be second battle he lost.

James staggered to his feet and rocketed nearly twenty feet up in the air just before the shockwave struck. The spectators gasped as he recovered from the powerful attack.

"Hey James! Go for a Stun Spore!"

James's mushroom cap vibrated, covering the arena in a glittering orange dust.

"Burn the spore away!" Aria commanded.

Fiora opened her mouth to burn through with a Fire Blast but she inhaled the spores and tumbled to the ground, twitching as the spores scrambled the costume's artificial neurons.

"Let's finish with Dynamicpunch!" Wukong shouted, thrusting his fist into the air.

James's right fist glowed white as he charged forward, rapidly covering the distance between the two."

"Get up and counter, hurry!" Aria shouted.

It was no use. Just as Fiora's costume managed to clear itself, James delivered a vicious right hook that sent her tumbling across the arena. She lay still at the opposite end of the arena as her costume rebooted itself.

"Fiora is unable to battle! James wins!" Cynthia shouted, raising her right arm in the air.

Aria entered the arena and helped Fiora to her feet. At that moment Fiora reached behind herself and pressed a button at the base of the costume's right wing. Soon, the costume's latches disengaged and Fiora removed her costume to reveal a man. Several spectators gasped in shock. The man ran a hand through his sandy hair and flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd.

"Hope you enjoyed the battle. And James, nice battling!" he said, putting his costume back in its box. He then led his Flygon back to the hotel. All of this while dressed in the black Gantz suit.

"He must have a lot of balls to wear that techno-gimp suit around," James muttered, sitting on a nearby bench.

A Sceptile cosplayer commanded by a Blaziken faced off against a Blaziken cosplayer commanded by a Sceptile. Cynthia got off the referee stand as the Sceptile cosplayer's friend decided to referee the match.

Palkia returned with Garchomp's fedora which was full of cash.

Garchomp took the fedora and looked at it. "What did you do?"

"Put on a show that combined my vast array of attacks and my swordsmanship. In any case, let's divvy it up when Zekrom and her group get back. Speaking of which, where is she?"

* * *

Zekrom was battling Armando, a cosplayer in a Machamp costume, in an arena on the other side of the park. Reshiram was serving as the referee. Johnny Mac and several others were watching the battle with great interest. Several boulders littered the battlefield from Armando's previous attempts at using Rock Slide.

Zekrom jumped into the air as Armando slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing the distinct white shockwave of Earthquake. She landed just as the last of the shockwaves dissipated and Armando charged towards her, both of his right fists wreathed in the blue glow of a charging Focus Punch. Arcs of blue-white electricity danced all over her body as her tail-generator revved up, making the spectators near her cover their ears at the high pitched whine. She then launched a massive blue sphere that had lightning bolts writhing within like enraged Ekans at him. The sphere struck him and detonated with a flash so brilliantly white that everyone nearby closed their eyes lest they be blinded. That flash was followed by a thunderclap that one spectator (who was a former sailor on said battleship) described as "like all six of the _Craydaunt's_ 16 inch guns firing at the same time". When everyone's vision and hearing had recovered, they saw Armando on the opposite end of the arena, motionless as his costume rebooted itself and Zekrom standing triumphantly at her end of the arena.

"Armando is unable to battle! Zekrom is the winner!" Reshiram declared as he stepped down from the platform.

Zekrom walked off the area as Reshiram and Johnny Mac followed her. They then met up with the rest of the group.

"What did you do?" Johnny Mac asked, looking at the fedora full of cash that Palkia had.

"Street performance. Now let's divvy up the cash," Palkia replied. Despite the fact that the fedora was full of cash, each of the six got just enough to buy some fast food.

James yawned – a rather amusing sight given the fact he was in a full Breloom costume. "Well, I'm ready to go to sleep."

Palkia looked around the "park". It was mostly empty save for a few people still using the arenas. He then entered the hotel through the doors. The lobby was now devoid of gawkers and tourists but a few cosplayers were still around. And of course, there were some people checking in. Including a group of five aqua haired individuals with metal suitcases.

He paid no heed to them and entered the elevator. Thankfully, the elevator was capable of holding them all. Soon, they had reached their floors and dispersed to their rooms.

* * *

Palkia, Garchomp and Cynthia entered their room. The lights were dimmed and Lugia was eating some complementary poffins. Garchomp and Cynthia entered their room and shut the door.

Palkia then pulled out the foldaway bed from the couch only to find that it was broken. "Damn it! The sofa bed's broken!"

Lugia grinned. "I'll be happy to share the bed with you."

Palkia _refused _to share a bed with anyone, let alone another male Legendary. Not to mention he suspected Lugia had some ulterior motives for being so willing to share a bed.

"No!" Palkia exclaimed. "And I am especially not sharing a bed with an incontinent Legendary!"

He then telekinetically shut off the lights, put the sofa bed back and flopped down on the couch. "Good night!"

Lugia shrugged and re-diapered himself using the same diaper that he had been wearing before. Hey, he hadn't used the diaper and he decided not to be wasteful. He then slid under the covers and fell asleep, dreaming about Dialga.

* * *

Garchomp and Cynthia – still in full costume – were lying on their bed and cuddling. The lights were dimmed to add a romantic ambience.

"So shall we?" Cynthia asked, running her claw along Garchomp's chest.

"Let's," Garchomp replied, kissing her on the cheek. She could barely keep herself under control. Garchomp-form-Cynthia had always been her hottest fantasy and now it was going to become a reality.

The two then locked lips. Their tongues explored each others' mouths as they rubbed against each other and moaned in pleasure.

Cynthia could feel waves of pleasure wracking her body as Garchomp's rough tongue slid over her teeth, gums and lips. Even though Garchomp's interactions were actually the costume, it felt as if Garchomp were actually kissing and rubbing against her.

After a few minutes, they broke apart, their faces aglow with pleasure.

"So, shall we continue?" Garchomp asked with a grin.

Cynthia said nothing but spread herself on the bed as Garchomp lowered her head to Cynthia's crotch.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the other room, Palkia was covering his head with a cushion to drown out the erotic talk and moans of pleasure as Cynthia and Garchomp went at it.

After trying for several minutes to sleep, he finally lost his temper and opened their door, which they had forgotten to lock.

He grew taller until his head barely touched the ceiling so he could intimidate them into stopping.

Not surprisingly, Garchomp and Cynthia were so into their activities that they failed to notice that the Master of Space was watching them.

Palkia cleared his throat. "I MUST ASK YOU TO BE QUIET! I AM TRYING TO SLEEP!"

The loud, booming voice of his larger form did the trick. Garchomp and Cynthia -completely embarrassed and both holding active vibrators – looked up at him.

"Sorry," Garchomp said sheepishly as she turned off her vibrator.

"DON'T LET ME HEAR YOU AGAIN!" Palkia ordered as he closed the door.

Cynthia and Garchomp shrugged and resumed their activities but a little more quietly.

* * *

Palkia flopped down on his couch. He knew that these next few days were only a temporary diversion from the goal of stopping Cyrus. And of course, he remembered the talk he had with James back at the convention center. He was going to need to talk to Johnny Mac the next day.


	16. Chapter 16: Operation Solid Snivy

Chapter 16: Operation Solid Snivy

**Sinnoh-Kanto Border, forty miles north of Pewter City**

The _Hikokyu II _gently touched down in a remote airport just north of Pewter City to refuel. "Airport" was a misnomer though; there was little more than a poorly illuminated dirt runway; a battered hangar that could fit one, maybe two small planes; several hydrogen tanks surrounded by a barbed wire fence and an onsite hydrogen production plant.

Four massive pipes, each as thick as a man's leg, snaked up to the underside of the airship. Each pipe transferred liquid hydrogen at a rate of hundreds of gallons per second – this rapid transfer rate allowed the refueling to take only minutes.

Several "Dragonite" cargo skiffs carrying portable energy cages flew landed near three semitrailers. Some Machoke and grunts wearing powered exoskeletons lifted the cages into the trucks.

* * *

Inside the _Hikokyu II_'s hold, Dialga, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Mew, Giratina, Jirachi, Shaymin and Arceus were the only ones left. The rest of the Legendaries had been loaded onto the trucks and hauled off to the nearest base for study.

"Well, this is it; we're fucked," Rayquaza said, resting his head on his serpentine body.

Giratina finished off the bottle of Lavaridge beer that Charon had given him before the landing. He then noticed that the bars of the cage had a section that was not energized. He also noticed that the door of the hold was open and – if Rayquaza's information about the _Jirarudan_ class airships was right – there was a fifty foot drop to the ground and he may be able to fly away under the cover of darkness. "Not so fast, Mew, see that non-energized section?"

Mew turned his head and spotted said section on the top right corner of the cage; instead of the pulsing blue corona that covered the rest of the bars, this particular section was shiny metal. "Yep!" he chirped.

"Good, I need you to squeeze through there and open the cage."

Mew flew over to the section and tried to squeeze through…only to get his gut stuck between the two non-energized bars.

"That's what happens when you eat like a Snorlax," Shaymin admonished with a grin as she watched Mew flail his arms and legs about in a desperate attempt to get free. Granted, Mew was a sucker for sweet foods and Charon was all too happy to ply him with sugary treats. As a result, Mew had gained some weight.

Suddenly, distant footsteps and the hum of the electric motors closing the heavy blast doors were heard along with the faint hum of the antigravity engines powering up.

Rayaquaza and the others immediately leapt to their feet and looked around. All they could see was the blast door steadily closing and the steady blinking red lights that warned personnel to avoid the closing doors, lest they be crushed by them.

"Hurry up!" Mew cried, still trying to wriggle free.

Thinking quickly, Arceus used her psychic powers to push Mew free. He shot from the gap and collided with one of the shields that protected the priceless artworks in the hold from damage. "Oww!" he exclaimed, rubbing his sore rear end. "Did you have to push so hard?"

"Mew! The cage!" the other Legends shouted in unison.

"Oh, right." Mew hovered to the lever than controlled the energy cage but to his surprise, it refused to budge – even when he used all his psychic power to pull it.

"It won't work!" Mew shouted.

Arceus looked around. The blast door was almost closed and the whine of the antigravity engines got louder. In fact, she felt the ship jitter slightly as it began to gain altitude. "Forget the cage! Get out and get help!"

Mew immediately turned towards the blast door and sped forward. He made the gap just as the multi-ton doors slammed shut with a mighty _thud_.

"Good luck, Mew," Arceus whispered. "We're all counting on you."

* * *

Mew flitted around the massive superstructure of the mighty airship and found a place to perch on one of the many point-defense gatling autocannons that dotted the underside of the massive craft. The air was starting get cooler as the airship climbed into the night sky, reminding him of the fact that he was not Rayquaza – the Guardian of the Jet Stream – who could survive even in the thin air sixty two miles above the earth. He looked down and saw the "airport" slowly receding into the darkness. He gulped; he was going to have to time this right. Too early and he would be spotted by the ground crew before he got away. Too late and the thin air would render him unconscious.

Minutes ticked by as the airship climbed higher and higher. Soon, he could see the lights of Cerulean City in the distance. That – and the fact that he could feel his chest start to tighten with the thinning air – was his cue to get ready.

"_All right, let's do this!" _he thought as he let go of his handhold. He quickly spread out his arms, legs and tail as he entered freefall and the cool night air rushed past him. Even as he sped towards the ground, he dared not engage in high-speed psychic flight until he was sure that the _Hikokyu II_ was way out of range; he was fairly certain that the airship's radar system could not pick up such a small target but if he lit his "psychic booster", then all bets were off.

After a few more minutes of freefall, Mew was sure the _Hikokyu II _was out of range and he could safely engage in high-speed psychic flight. Unfortunately, he was a little forgetful so Mewtwo had to teach him a little ditty to help him remember the proper ignition sequence. Now how did it go again?

Mew gulped as he desperately racked his brain and saw the ground rapidly approaching. His normal psychic flight was quite slow and he needed to cover large amounts of distance (it was approximately four hundred miles to Hoenn's Lilycove City).

Suddenly, he remembered the ditty.

_Ground control to Major Mew  
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on  
Ground control to Major Mew  
Commencing countdown, check ignition _

_Engines on. _

He played the ditty a few times in his head and the launch sequence began to form in his mind.

_Take your protein pills and put your helmet on._

He focused his psychic energy and the pink shield began to form around him, starting at his head.

_Commencing countdown, check ignition__._

The psychic bubble began to take the rough form of a dart and Mew's body tingled as the psychic power coursed through his veins. A "tail" of pink energy began to form at the rear of the dart.

_Engines on. _

The "energy tail" at the rear of the psychic bubble elongated even further and Mew shot forward in a burst of psychic energy. His psychic abilities dampened the g-forces somewhat but it still felt like his stomach had been left behind.

Unfortunately, he had initiated his flight sequence at such a low altitude that he barely skimmed the tops of some of the taller trees. Luckily everyone was asleep as he flew over Pewter City, so no one noticed the speeding pink dart that was Mew. As he skimmed the treetops and tried to gain altitude, sky, land and trees around him blurred into a hypnotic pink haze. He closed his eyes to keep from vomiting thanks to the pink swirl. Before he could turn on his psychic vision, he collided with something hard and blacked out.

* * *

**Outskirts of Pewter City, sixty miles south of the Sinnoh-Kanto border**

"What is this?"

"Not what, _who."_

"Can it be?"

Some muffled whispers then one sentence.

"It is Mew."

Mew groaned as he began to regain consciousness.

"He's waking up."

"But how'd he get here?"

Mew forced his eyes open and he found that he was cradled in the arms of young green-haired woman. "Who are you?" he asked with a groan. His entire body ached like he had been trapped under Groudon for the past few hours.

"My name's Cheryl," the woman replied.

"Yeah, I got to get-"

Mew's words died on his lips as he took in his surroundings. Directly behind Cheryl was large black pyramid. Several banks of spotlights lit up the pyramid, showing off the highly polished surface – and the giant crack where he had collided with it. Behind him, some men appeared to be filing into the building. Speaking of which, his head still ached. "Uh, where am I?" he asked.

"Outside of Pewter City and by the Battle Pyramid," Cheryl replied.

Suddenly, Mew remembered that he had a mission. "Dialga, Latios, Latias, Rayquaza, Giratina, Jirachi, Shaymin and Arceus have been kidnapped and are aboard the _Hikokyu II_!" he blurted out. He then fell back into her arms.

Cheryl sighed. "Oh dear, what has Latias done this time?"

"No! They've been kidnapped and they told me to get help!"

Cheryl gasped and ran into Battle Pyramid, being careful not to jostle her passenger.

* * *

When Cheryl arrived at the atrium of the Battle Pyramid, she was greeted by a young man wearing a blue bandana. The man ran a greasy hand across his face, brushing back some locks of reddish-brown hair. The atrium was sparsely decorated with faux Egyptian carvings and some potted palm plants. The walls were covered in glossy black paint that reflected the track lighting installed to spotlight the Egyptian carvings.

"Sam," she ordered, "Take Mew to the infirmary!"

"Can't you see that I just came from the engine room?" he said, sighing with exasperation.

"Mew's unconscious!"

Those words did it. Sam gently accepted Mew and headed to the infirmary. His footsteps echoed in the metal corridors.

Cheryl then pressed the call button next to the elevator's door. She waited for elevator to arrive and then she stepped in. As the doors slid shut with a hiss, she pressed the button labeled "FD" (flight deck). The elevator lurched and soon sped upwards to the flight deck – ninety feet above her.

When the door opened, she was treated to an enormous console with vast array of lights, buttons and switches along with a plush captain's chair with its back facing her.

"Brandon," she said, "I got word from Mew that several Legends have been kidnapped and held aboard the _Hikokyu II_."

The chair swiveled towards her, revealing a brown haired man dressed in a green shirt and khaki pants. A pair of binoculars dangled from his neck. This was Brandon, Frontier Brain of the Battle Pyramid (and owner/captain of said battle arena/airship) and career adventurer.

"I see. Then it is settled. We must find the _Hikokyu II_ and rescue them," he said. He then swiveled the chair back to the console.

"But Brandon, don't you know that it could be dangerous? Please, you can't risk the lives of Sam, Mira, Tobias, Noland, Riley and me like that!" Cheryl pleaded.

"Nonsense! Life is boring without a little danger! When I was…"

Cheryl sighed and entered the elevator. Brandon was a serious adrenaline junkie and adventurer who could give the fictional Indiana Jones a run for his money. But Brandon tended to forget that not everyone got high off death-defying escapades like he did.

When Cheryl had left, he pressed a button that activated the ship's PA system.

"Attention please, the Battle Pyramid will be lifting off in one minute. All crew head to stations and secure any loose items!"

* * *

Cheryl headed to the infirmary. There, Mew was lying on a cot and one of the onboard nurses was spraying some hyper potion on him. She sniffed the air; the infirmary had a distinct but not unpleasant medicinal odor. She then sat on another cot. Luckily, Mew was the only patient.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

Mew nodded and levitated a glass of water to his lips as the nurse sprayed the potion on him. "Yep," he replied.

"So exactly how did you all get kidnapped?"

Mew said nothing but sped into the bathroom and closed the door. The sound of retching could be heard from within.

Cheryl scratched her head. "I didn't think Legendaries had bodily functions," she muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam was inside the fourth floor engine room of the Battle Pyramid and running through the pre-takeoff list. He had to run through the checklist before each and every takeoff. Of course, being the Battle Pyramid's chief engineer, this was only one of his many responsibilities. In fact, he spent so much time there that it was practically his home. Even though a mass of pipes and wires of all sizes connected the equipment, it was very well organized; each pipe was labeled with its contents and the direction of its flow and each wire was color coded.

He closed the hatch that allowed him to physically examine the condenser. The power source for the Battle Pyramid was not a palladium-hydrogen fusion reactor but instead a hybrid powerplant that combined three hydrogen burning gas turbines made by Ketchum Heavy Industries with steam turbine that used the waste heat from the gas turbines' exhaust to generate steam. In total, the system generated 114 megawatts (ninety from the three gas turbines and twenty four from the steam turbine). Of course, gas and steam turbines did not power the Battle Pyramid's flight; antigravity engines did. And consequently, each turbine was hooked up to an electrical generator. All combined, this produced about 68.4 megawatts of electrical energy – enough to run all the engines and other electrical systems at cruising speed. An additional turbine and generator assembly produced fourteen megawatts in case one of the main turbines failed or if the Battle Pyramid needed an additional boost of speed.

Sam retreated to the soundproofed control room and shut the heavy door. A control panel with assorted lights and other technological paraphernalia was directly underneath a thick glass window. He then took a seat in front of the panel and grabbed the intercom hooked up to the control panel. "Flight deck, this is engine room. Maintenance checks have been completed and no problems have been reported. Over."

A few seconds later, Brandon's voice came back through the intercom. "Roger that. Initiate power on sequence and disconnect utility lines. Flight deck out."

Sam cracked his knuckles and flipped up the safety cover on a red button labeled "turbine one ignition". He pressed down the button and held it. Even through the thick walls, he could hear the cough and hiss of the compressed air starter spooling up the turbine and then the steadily rising whine of the engine coming to speed.

He shivered. Even though he had heard that sound many times before, it still sent a tingle down his spine. The raw power that he controlled inside the Battle Pyramid's engine room was intoxicating to him. A green light labeled "turbine one" blinked on, indicating that the engine was at its operating speed (35,000 rpm).

He repeated the steps for the two other turbines. A few minutes later, all the engines (except for the steam turbine) were running at their operating speed (as indicated by the green indicator lights on the control panel). Anyone outside the soundproofed room without hearing protection would have been deafened from the shriek of three large gas turbines running at full power.

Luckily for Sam, he was inside his soundproofed control room and a set of earmuff style hearing protectors dangled from a nearby hook in case he needed to venture into the engine room. But even with the room's soundproofing, the gas turbines provided a steady background cacophony. And of course, the room was air conditioned as well – a blessing considering that the engine room's temperatures can soar over 115 degrees with all engines at full power.

Sam cracked his knuckles and flipped up the safety cover on a red switch labeled "utility line disconnect. Powerful hydraulic rams disconnected the power and water lines. The only indication that showed the process was successful were two blue indicator lights – labeled "outside power" and "outside water" – that winked out. He then dialed the flight deck again.

"Flight deck, this is Engine room. Engines are up to operating speed and power and water lines disconnected. Engine room out."

A dedicated elevator as well as a sealed stairwell that led to the main deck of the Battle Pyramid was at the rear of the room.

Sam leaned back in the surprisingly plush chair in front of the control console, pulled his hard hat over his face and fell asleep.

* * *

The Battle Pyramid had five antigravity engines – each corner of the pyramid concealed an engine housed inside an armored nacelle mounted on retractable spars. A large engine was located underneath the building.

The corner engines were currently hidden but they began to extend with creak of powerful servomotors.

A low hum that emanated from the engines grew to a penetrating whine as the engines powered up. Interestingly, the engines looked like turbine blades and even rotated. But the rotation was intended to circulate air around the field emitters to keep them from overheating; it had no bearing on the Battle Pyramid's flight. This unusual cooling mechanism required less maintenance than a liquid cooling system. The weight savings were an additional bonus.

Slowly but steadily, the massive craft climbed into the night sky.

* * *

**40,000 feet above the wilds of southern Sinnoh, sixty miles north of the Sinnoh-Kanto border**

Inside the _Hikokyu II_'s hold, the other Legendaries were waiting for their hopeful rescue.

"Come Mew, you can do it," Rayquaza said. He paid no attention to the Lati twins' furious make-out session that was occurring right behind him.

Giratina was too busy admiring a heroic nude statue of himself to notice the Lati twins. The statue in question had been stolen from the Sinjoh Ruins Historical Park. This incident led to the closure of said park which upset him because that was where he preferred to meet his worshippers, most of whom were Johtoinians but he had a substantial Sinnohese following as well.

Jirachi was also admiring the heroic nude statue of Giratina. Granted, he constantly made jokes about how it portrayed Giratina as being rather obese.

Finally, Giratina snapped. "Damn it, Jirachi! I am not a 'Fatty Ghost Dragon'!" he shouted.

Shaymin yawned from her position against Rayquaza's tail. "Will you shut the fuck up so I can sleep?"

"GO EAT A DICK!" Dialga shouted.

"Bite me!"

"WITH PLEASURE!"

"Enough!" Arceus roared, levitating as much as she could in the cramped cell. Everyone grew quiet at her wrath. She then calmed down. "Fighting amongst ourselves will not get Mew and his rescue party back faster. The best we can do is wait things out and not entertain our captors by fighting amongst ourselves."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside a small room near the hold that contained the Legendaries, several grunts and a certain dirty minded chief engineer were crowded around a console that controlled the security cameras inside the hold and contained four screens that showed the visual feed from the camera.

"'Fatty Ghost Dragon', damn, that's a good one!" a grunt said as he sipped from his bottle of cola.

"Man, this is _way_ better than anything that the entertainment center has," another grunt said as he put his feet on the console.

The grunt who was on security cam duty was also watching the drama when she noticed the grunt with his feet on the console. "Hey! Read the damn signs!" she shouted, pointing to a black plaque bolted onto the bare metal wall behind her.

The sign read: "_Attention! Body parts other than hands and arms are permitted not on the control console!" _

The previous sign had just banned feet on the control console but this new sign was added after a rather sticky and gross "incident" that involved the chief engineer and a security cam zoomed in on the Lati siblings.

Charon said nothing as he hungrily watched a monitor that showed a close up of the Lati sibling's make out session. "Oh, yeah. Come on," he muttered as he watched Latias give her brother a rather sensual backrub.

He was too engrossed in his voyeurism to notice that Mew was missing.

* * *

**40****,000 feet above the center of Pewter City, 165 miles to the Sinnoh-Kanto border.**

The Battle Pyramid was now flying through the night skies at its cruising speed of one hundred knots – 115 miles per hour. Several red running lights mounted on the outriggers and top of the pyramid steadily blinked.

The lights were dimmed in the hallways to save power, seeing as most of the crew were relaxing or sleeping in their cabins.

* * *

Brandon returned to the flight deck with a cup of coffee. He took a seat in the captain's chair and took a sip of the steaming liquid. The bridge was well lit so Brandon could safely pilot the airship. Even though the instruments and buttons were lit with LEDs or electroluminescent light strips, he still needed to read navigational charts. Speaking of which, a navigational chart that had several notes on it lay on a small table. This chart in question had been used to plot the rough course of the Battle Pyramid. Normally, he would have at least two other crewmembers assisting him but since it was late; he decided to take on their duties himself.

Noland, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Factory entered the flight deck. In terms of the Battle Frontier, he was equal in rank to Brandon but onboard the Battle Pyramid, he was just another mechanic, albeit one who maintained the small hover skiff fleet and Brandon's "air car".

"Captain," Noland said, taking off his signature red beret. "I suggest that someone fly out from the Battle Pyramid to locate this airship."

"There is no need; the Battle Pyramid is equipped with a state of the art radar system," Brandon replied. He looked at the radar readout, which was displayed on rather large touchscreen to his right and sighed.

"Any luck, Captain?" Noland asked.

"No. The targeted ship is out of range," Brandon replied. He suddenly noticed that the light reading "Emergency Power" was not lit. An idea flashed into his head as he activated the intercom and spoke. "Engine room! This is the captain speaking! Activate emergency power!"

* * *

Sam was leaning back in the chair and sleeping when Brandon's voice came over the intercom.

The sudden shock of his captain's voice caused him to lean back too far and fall out of the chair. After picked himself up, he reseated himself and looked over the control panel. He quickly flipped a red switch labeled "Emergency Power Engage". He was rewarded with a satisfying _click_ of the contacts engaging and the cough-hiss of the turbine starting up. Soon, the maximum power output was reached.

"Bridge, this is Engineer Sam, emergency power is online!" he said into the intercom. He then leaned back in the chair, put his hardhat over his face and fell asleep.

* * *

Brandon looked on the console and as soon as the emergency power indicator light was lit, he pushed another button that was labeled, "Emergency Power Activation". As soon as he did so, a chime sounded and the blue emergency power indicator light began to flash.

The airspeed indicator (currently reading one hundred knots) and the temperature gauges slowly began rise as more power was fed to the antigravity engines. While operating the engines under this increased load for short periods of time was perfectly safe, sustained operation was capable of raising the operating temperatures of antigravity engines beyond the safe limits, causing them to shut down prematurely or even catch on fire. After several minutes, the airspeed indicator topped out at 132 knots – about 151.90 miles per hour.

Brandon leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his now cold coffee. "Well, all we can do is wait until that ship comes into radar range."

Noland silently nodded and headed back to his post at the Battle Pyramid's hangar.

* * *

Inside Cheryl's cabin, laughter could be heard from within. Cheryl had graciously allowed Mew to share her room. But now he had decided to take advantage of Cheryl's absence and proceeded to joyfully bounce on her bed.

The room's walls had the same glossy black paint as the rest of the Battle Pyramid and the carpet was a deep black that blended perfectly with the walls. There was also a small desk – bolted to the floor of course. A sliding door with a built-in full length mirror concealed a small closet.

After many minutes of bouncing, he finally wore himself out and fell asleep on her bed.

* * *

At the same time, the Battle Pyramid got close enough to pick up _Hikokyu II_ on radar. Granted, it was pretty damn hard to hide an airship that was nearly three times larger than a _Zorroark_ class aircraft carrier.

Brandon shut off the emergency power, picked up the intercom and spoke: "Attention, Mew. Please head to the flight deck."

He grinned; he gambled that Mew had flown in a straight line at high speed (judging from the large crack he had left in the Battle Pyramid's facade) and he decided to try and reconstruct Mew's route.

And his gamble paid off; it had led him right to the airship.

* * *

Mew was jolted out of his slumber by Brandon's announcement. The shock caused him to tumble out of bed. He then hovered out of the room and headed to the elevator that took him to the flight deck. Even though he had no idea what a flight deck was, the elevator was helpfully labeled.

After an elevator ride that left his stomach on the ground floor, Mew exited the elevator and traversed a short hallway that split off into a fork – the right fork was the flight deck, the left was the captain's quarters. He followed the labels helpfully attached onto the wall and soon found himself in the flight deck.

"Wow," he muttered. He was treated to a dizzying array of buttons, lights, switches and dials. A large man with his back to him sat on a plush chair. He assumed that this man was the captain.

"Erm, excuse me," Mew said timidly. "I'm Mew and I'm supposed to speak to someone in the flight deck."

"Yes, that would be me," the man said without turning around.

"Now what did you want to ask me about? And what's your name?"

"Sorry, that was rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Brandon, captain of this airship." Brandon's back was still turned to Mew; it was quite clear that the conversation was not a very high priority – at least compared to piloting the airship.

"Erm, Captain Brandon, you wanted to ask me something?" Mew stated.

Brandon pressed a button on the console and a projector mounted on a rotating turret aimed at one of the many windows on the bridge and the radar display appeared on the window. A green line scanned over the window and a grid pattern with coordinates appeared. The Battle Pyramid (represented by a red dot) and several green blobs appeared on the display. He then used the touchscreen to zoom in on the biggest blob – the _Hikokyu II_. The projection mirrored the action on the touchscreen. And soon, the amorphous blob began to coalesce into a disk with the stalked, spherical weapons pod clearly visible on the bottom.

"That's it! I recognize that bulb thingy on the bottom!" Mew blurted out, anticipating Brandon's question.

"You read my mind," Brandon said calmly.

"No, I didn't!" Mew teased.

"In any case, meet me at the atrium."

Mew saluted and then headed out of the flight deck to the elevator. Brandon then pressed the intercom button. "Attention! Everyone report to the atrium for a meeting!"

He then activated the Battle Pyramid's autopilot and followed Mew. As much as he hated the thing, he had to admit, it was useful.

* * *

Sam, Mira, Tobias, Noland, Riley and Cheryl were all gathered in the atrium. Most of them – save for Noland – appeared to have been sleeping when the announcement came.

"This better be important," Mira said with a yawn. She sat on one of the plush couches around a small marble table as she waited for Brandon to appear.

"It is; Brandon wouldn't wake us up if it weren't," Sam said as he stretched his arms.

Riley telekinetically nudged Tobias. This telekinetic power came not from psychic powers but his aura manipulation abilities. While psychic humans were found all over the Pokémon Continent, aura users were found only in a certain region of Sinnoh, which Riley happened to be from. "Wake up!"

Tobias snorted and shot up from the couch he was napping on. "I'm awake!"

The sound of the elevator arriving made their heads turn.

"Ah, that's Captain Brandon," Noland said.

The elevator doors parted to reveal Mew, who floated out of the elevator.

"Where's Brandon?"

"He was behind me," Mew said with a shrug. He then floated over to the marble table and sat on it.

A few minutes later, the elevator returned, this time with Brandon in it.

"Mew! You're supposed to wait for me!" he exclaimed.

Mew sheepishly giggled. "Sorry."

Brandon then took a deep breath and composed himself. "All right, we have located the target airship; it is approximately twenty five miles due north of us. The goal is to enter the airship, find the Legendaries and free them. I will need two volunteers."

Riley raised his hand. "I will go with Lucario."

"Good. Now I recommend we have someone mechanically inclined, like say, Noland."

"But Captain I need to-"

Brandon silenced him with a wave of his hand. "The air car and hover skiffs will wait for you. And besides, your record with the Battle Pyramid's engines is…poor to put it mildly."

Noland sighed; Brandon had a point. Any time he touched anything not related to a hover skiff or the air car, it almost always malfunctioned. His most memorable incident was when somehow he managed to cause turbine #1 to shut down, accidentally disable the battle arena's shields and break the toilet in his room. All in one day. "All right; I will do it."

"Can I come?" Mew piped up.

Riley turned to Mew. "No. We cannot risk you being recaptured in the event this mission goes wrong."

Mew sighed but nodded. "All right. So what shall I do?"

"You can help send them off," Brandon replied. "All right, get moving!"

The others returned to their bedrooms except for Noland, who headed towards the elevator.

* * *

The elevator opened at the hangar, which was the lowest level of the airship (along with the sewage processing plant). The hangar itself was dimly lit but once it detected his presence, powerful LEDs lit up the hangar in a bright blue-white glow. Brandon's famous air car occupied the middle of hangar. Several hover skiffs were lined up against the hangar's left and right walls and plugged into the power grid. Several crates, carts and lockers containing assorted supplies and tools were lined up and secured against the front wall where the elevator was located. In the middle of the rear wall were the heavy doors that opened to the outside air.

As Noland stepped out of the elevator, his footsteps clattered against the slightly grimy metal floors. A stairwell was next to the elevator. The hangar had two stairwells in case the elevator malfunctioned; one was located next to the elevator and the other was at the far rightof the hangar.

He shivered slightly; the hangar was kept unheated to save energy. Although the entrances to the hangar were rigged to trigger heaters that would raise the air temperature above freezing, it took a while thanks to the hangar's large size.

He then stepped over to his locker and opened its lock. Inside was his black flight suit. He took it out and seeing as he was the only one present, he decided to change in the hangar instead of using the small bathroom near the elevator.

Unfortunately as soon as Noland's pants came off, Riley stepped out of the elevator with Lucario's poké ball in hand. Riley was then treated to the sight of the chief engineer clad only in Porygon print boxer shorts.

"Sorry," Riley said as he turned his back to give Noland some privacy.

Noland was too cold to care and he soon zipped up his suit and stuck his clothing into the locker. He draped the oxygen hose and power coupling over his shoulder and picked up his helmet/oxygen mask. A small oxygen bottle was attached to his hip. He then headed for the back of the hangar.

Riley grabbed a "loaner suit" in his size and headed to the bathroom to change. Several minutes later, Riley emerged in a black flight suit much like the one that Noland was wearing. His clothing was stuffed into a locker and the loaner helmet/oxygen mask was tucked under his arm.

He then stood by the hover skiffs in the right of the hangar. At the same time, the elevator opened and Mew sped out towards the two. "Sorry I'm late, but I got lost," he said.

"No matter. All you have to do is push the red button next to the elevator," Noland replied as he donned the helmet but left the mask dangling from his chin.

"You mean this one?" Mew asked, pointing to the large red button with red warning stripes around it.

Noland nodded.

"Got it."

Mew then headed over to the button and awaited the signal to push the button.

"So which skiff?" Riley asked.

Noland gestured to two midnight black skiffs that capped each of the two rows of hover skiffs. The top of the skiff's running board was the only flat part. The control column and the sides of the running board had the characteristic odd angular shape of a stealth aircraft. The two skiffs in question were CS-117 "Noctowl" stealth skiffs. While hover skiffs did show up on radar, they had the same signature as large Swellow or Pidgeot – thus they were usually ignored but they couldn't take any chances at 40,000 feet (few, if any pokémon were found at this altitude). In addition, their antigravity engines produced distinct gravitational fluctuations that were easily tracked.

"Noctowl" stealth skiffs – thanks to the use of radar absorbent material and their odd shape – had a radar signature of a Wingull, assuming that the radar could even detect such a small target. They were also equipped with dampeners that used electromagnetic fields to try and disguise the gravitational fluctuations of the engine. Finally, the engines were designed to run as cool and as quiet as possible to detection by heat or sound emissions.

While "Noctowl" stealth skiffs were not illegal (except in Johto and Isshu where they were legally restricted to military and law enforcement); their manufacturer – Kyuujux Aviation – refused to sell them to civilians. Brandon got his two skiffs by purchasing them used from a police department in Orre.

Noland mounted the skiff and strapped himself in using the integrated harness on his flight suit. Two clamps also held onto his boots. He quickly plugged himself in and donned the oxygen mask.

Riley followed Noland's lead and soon, the two were suited up and ready to go.

"Radio check," Noland said.

"Copy that," Riley replied.

Noland and Riley then started their engines. Unlike the loud whine of a "Pidgeot" skiff, the two skiffs produced a barely audible hum. Noland gave a thumbs-up to Mew, who nodded and pressed the red button. A klaxon sounded and red lights flashed as the heavy doors at the rear of the hangar slid open. A loud hiss was heard as the pressurized air flowed out into the colder, thinner air of 40,000 feet.

Mew saluted the two as they sped out into the night sky. Fifteen seconds after Riley cleared the threshold, the door creaked as it slowly slid shut.

"Good luck," Mew said as he summoned the elevator and waited for it to take him back to the atrium.

* * *

Brandon returned to the flight deck. He set the autopilot to hover in place and retired to his quarters to sleep.

The lights dimmed as he exited the flight deck.

* * *

Mew flitted around the atrium. As pretty much everyone was asleep, the lights in the atrium were dimmed to conserve power.

He yawned and headed back to Cheryl's room where he could sleep.

* * *

The two "Noctowl" skiffs sped through the starry night sky. While the air at 40,000 feet was too cold and thin to support most forms of life, this was no problem for Riley and Noland thanks to their oxygen masks and heated flight suits.

"Say, aren't the stars bright?" Riley said via radio.

"Yeah," Noland replied as he looked around. The moon gleamed overhead, bathing everything in a surrealistic white light. Bright pinpricks of stars twinkled in the ink-black sky. Fluffy, grey clouds served as the "ground" to their flight. The air was silent save for the calming drone of the two hover skiffs' engines.

"So what did you bring?"

"Just some small tools and a poké ball."

Riley was bewildered by Noland's decision not to bring a pokémon. However, he wasn't aware that Noland's pokémon were back in Hoenn. He decided not to press the issue and let the drone of the skiffs' engines take the place of conversation.

Soon the distinct shape of the _Hikokyu II _began to materialize in the distance.

"All right, now how do we get in?" Riley asked.

Noland said nothing but examined the superstructure of the great ship. He soon noticed a maintenance catwalk near one of the spars that held the ship's antigravity pods. The catwalk itself had some safety railings as well as a docking station for a single hover skiff. Each spar that held one of the antigravity pods had one of these catwalks so engineers could examine the engine or repair damage in case the built-in nanite repair system malfunctioned.

"Follow my lead," Noland said as he maneuvered his skiff into position and landed on the docking station. Two clamps locked onto the skiff, holding it in place. Noland took another length of rope from a pocket in his flight suit and attached one end to his harness and the other end to the railing. He then detached himself from the skiff and stepped off onto the metal catwalk, which was slick with ice thanks to the cold air. He grabbed onto the railing which was equally slick. Thankfully, the gloves and boots gave him exceptional traction.

Riley maneuvered his skiff to the spar that was to the right of Noland. He rejected it when he saw that it was occupied by another hover skiff. He used his aura abilities and noticed that there was someone doing some repair work on the antigravity pod. He quickly chose another spar to dock.

He followed the same procedure as Noland to secure himself to the catwalk.

* * *

_**Hikokyu II**_

Noland had already made it to the small door at the end of the catwalk. After he brushed away a thin layer of ice, he found a small latch. He gave it a quick pull and the door slid open with a gentle hiss of air escaping into the atmosphere. For safety reasons, these doors can always be opened from the outside (no one wants to be locked out of a building, let alone one flying at 40,000 feet).

He then stepped into the antechamber as the door slid shut behind him. The antechamber's lights slowly flickered on, revealing a dull metal room containing two metal benches bolted to the floor. Two sets of airlock doors – one opposite the other – were the only distinguishing features of the room. He got up and headed to the opposite door and pressed the button next to it. The motors groaned as it slowly opened the large door.

As soon as the doors were opened, Noland exited the antechamber into a rather bland looking metal hallway. This was quite clearly the mechanical area of the ship as dozens of cables and pipes lined the ceiling. Most of the cables were sheathed inside armored conduits but there were a few that were exposed. A plaque on the wall read "Maintenance Area 5".

Noland made sure to commit that to memory. He then took off his oxygen mask, leaving it hanging from his neck.

He sniffed the air; it was heavy with the scent of grease, solvent and heated metal. Nevertheless, he ignored it and headed up a nearby stairwell.

* * *

Riley had entered a hallway that was an exact copy of the one that Noland had entered. Well, exactly the same except the plaque read "Maintenance Area 8".

Instead of heading up a nearby stairwell, he decided to investigate this floor. Suddenly, a distinct odor assailed his nostrils: the odor of ganja.

He headed towards the odor and soon saw two grunts along with a Leafeon inside a small closet. But this Leafeon was different; the "head-leaf" looked exactly like a ganja leaf and several flower buds grew on its back. He saw one of the men pluck a few buds from the Leafon's back and roll them into a joint, which he then lit and took a deep draw. Riley was careful to stay out of their line of sight.

"Man, this new 'Dream World Munna' is the shit," the man said as he took a deep draw.

"Don't thank me," the other man said. "Thank her. Without her and similar 'Reefeon', lots of marijuana breeds wouldn't exist." He pointed to the Leafeon lying at his feet.

"Thanks, girl," he said, scratching the Leafeon behind her ears. The Leafeon nuzzled his hand in reply.

"Glad you liked it," she said. Of course, her words were not understandable to anyone nearby. Except Riley, thanks to his aura abilities granting him the ability to understand pokémon.

Riley had heard about Reefeon; these mutants were usually created by exposing mature Leafeon to marijuana plants – usually by ingestion. They would then merge with the plant and if female, produce buds on their backs that can be painlessly removed and smoked. Owing to the fact that Reefeon were also animals, all types of unusual crossbreeds – even with other grass-type pokémon - were possible. However, he also knew that Reefeon were illegal everywhere (penalties for possession ran from confiscation to loss of one's trainer's license to a stiff fine and prison time). Of course, Hoenn made personal possession of marijuana and Reefeon legal; it was still illegal – and carried stiff penalties – to sell marijuana and Reefeon if not licensed.

Suddenly, the sting fresh of marijuana smoke made his nose itch. He tried to suppress a sneeze but failed miserably. Thankfully, the two grunts were too high to care about it. He quickly bolted away from the two in case they decided to pursue him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Noland sprinted past a plaque that read "Maintenance Area 4". The shouting of men could be heard behind him. He had stumbled upon a group of mechanics doing some repair work on the lights. Unfortunately for him, they noticed him before he could sneak away. Immediately pegging him as a stowaway – thanks to his black flight suit – they gave chase, armed with their tools.

As he was sprinting, he noticed a pile of cardboard boxes in the wide hallway. Thinking quickly, he grabbed one of the boxes and covered himself with it. Soon, he was indistinguishable from the other cardboard boxes in the area.

When the mechanics arrived on the scene, all they saw was a pile of cardboard boxes.

"He must be here somewhere," the lead mechanic said. He then turned to the others. "Search the area!"

The mechanics fanned out and did as they were told. Some of them headed out further into the hallway while the others stood guard.

Noland was watching from within his box. Seeing as those standing guard had their backs turned and that those searching further also had their backs turned, he decided to cautiously creep forward.

Unfortunately for him, one of the mechanics noticed one of the boxes moving. Curiosity aroused, he went over to the moving box and picked it up, revealing Noland.

"Hey! I've-" The man was quickly cut off when Noland kneed him in the groin and sprinted down the hall.

"Get him!" the lead mechanic shouted. The rest of the mechanics joined the pursuit.

* * *

Riley was slightly better off than Noland. He stood in front of a sliding steel door that was labeled as a hangar entrance. A plaque behind him read "Maintenance Area 7". After looking around and seeing that the area was deserted, he decided that the fastest way to enter was to use Lucario's Aura Sphere to destroy the door.

He quickly deployed Lucario and ordered him to use Aura Sphere on the door. The powerful blast rattled Riley's bones; if it were not for the fact that his own aura abilities dampened those of Lucario's, the shockwave could have killed him. The door buckled inward on its frame but still held strong. Another Aura Sphere finally took the door off its tracks, sending it inwards with a mighty crash as the door landed on the steel hangar floor. He then recalled Lucario.

Riley looked around the hangar. All he saw were rows of assorted hover skiffs and no Legendaries.

"Great," he muttered. He turned around and headed down the hallway, totally unaware that a silent alarm had been triggered and he was about to run into an armed response squad.

* * *

Noland had temporarily lost his pursuers by ducking inside a closet.

"_I gotta get rid of them somehow or else they'll keep chasing me," _he thought.

As he leaned against the wall inside the dark closet, he felt the round form of the poké ball press against his side. He had forgotten that the red recall beam of a poké ball, when directed at a human target, was capable of causing someone enough pain to grab their attention – or knocking someone unconscious at point blank range (great ball recall beams can instantly knock a human unconscious at range and ultra ball recall beams could actually kill if used at point blank range on a human target).

He grabbed the poké ball and expanded it to full size just as the closet door opened, revealing a mechanic. This mechanic just happened to be working here but he knew that Noland was an intruder thanks to his lack of uniform.

Noland reacted as quickly as he could, directing the red beam at the mechanic's chest – to no effect. Unfortunately for Noland, he was not aware that the uniform of the _Hikokyu II_'s crewmembers contained conductive fibers that blocked the effect of stun grenades, pokémon stunners, electrical stun weapons and recall beams. Head coverings with that same material were available.

Before Noland could get off a second shot, the mechanic seized his arm and tried to wrench the poké ball away from him. He then struck the mechanic in the groin with his knee – to seemingly no effect.

Noland spied a stick out of the corner of his eye. He grabbed the stick and thrust it as hard as possible into the mechanic's face. Much to the humiliation of the mechanic, said stick was actually the handle of a toilet plunger and Noland actually applied so much force to the thrust that the plunger managed to get stuck to the man's face! The mechanic dropped the poké ball and seized the stick with both hands, trying to remove the offending object from his face.

Noland took advantage of the mechanic's incapacitation, grabbed his poké ball and sprinted down the hallway.

The other mechanics arrived on scene seconds after Noland sprinted away. They found a rather bizarre scene – one of their comrades with a plumbing implement stuck to his face along with a closet door that was ajar. After pondering this scene for a moment, they burst out into laughter.

The hapless mechanic gave a series of muffled yells and pointed to the plunger stuck to his face. The lead mechanic stopped his laughter and tried to pull the plunger off the man. When several tugs failed to budge the instrument, the lead mechanic drew his pocketknife and cut the plunger's flange from the handle. He then easily removed the flange from the mechanic's face.

The mechanic took several deep breaths as the offending instrument was removed. "Who the fuck uses a plunger as a weapon!"

"Never mind that, where did the stowaway go?" the lead mechanic asked.

The mechanic pointed down the hallway with the plunger's handle.

"All right! Move out!"

The mechanic who Noland attacked picked up the plunger's handle and joined the group.

* * *

Riley jogged past a plaque mounted on the metal walls that read "Maintenance Area 6" as he tried to search for an area that he reasonably expected to hold the Legendaries. As he jogged, he noticed a placard on a heavy steel sliding door that was labeled "Main Hold – Authorized Personnel Only".

"_This has to be it,_" Riley thought as he drew Lucario's poké ball.

"You! Drop the poké ball!" a voice shouted from behind him.

Riley turned around and spotted a group of grunts, all pointing pistols at him. These grunts wore the same uniform as everyone else except that they also wore helmets with reflective faceplates. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Can it!" a grunt shouted. He then noticed that Riley still had his poké ball in hand. "Drop the ball or I put a bullet in your head!" His finger twitched on the trigger of his 9 mm Beretta (this was not standard issue, which was a Veekun Arms Close Combat .45 caliber pistol).

Riley sighed and seeing as he was outnumbered and outgunned, complied, letting the poké ball fall to the ground with a clatter.

* * *

Noland bolted up a nearby stairwell. His heart pounded from the run as he stopped on the top landing to take a short breather. He soon heard a door below him click open and the steps and voices of the pursuing men coming from the lower level of the stairwell. He quickly opened the door on the landing he was at. Spying a couple of crates nearby, Noland quickly pushed them to barricade the stairwell. The crates were quite heavy but his long hours as a hover skiff mechanic meant that he was also fairly strong.

"That should hold 'em," he said as he admired his handiwork.

Suddenly, the door shook and the crates jittered as someone rammed the door.

Noland shook his head and immediately fled the scene. After running what seemed like miles, he rounded a corner and saw Riley surrounded by several armed guards. Rather foolishly, he stepped out from behind the corner and made several obscene gestures.

The guards were stunned by the sudden appearance of a man in a black flight suit. Two of the guards gave chase. Taking advantage of the temporary distraction, Riley seized the dropped poké ball and flung it at the nearest guard's face. Thanks to Riley's aura powered throw, the metal sphere actually cracked the faceplate on the helmet. The men immediately trained their pistols at Riley and fired. Several of the bullets narrowly missed Riley, striking the metal bulkheads and disintegrating into metal dust.

Lucario appeared in a bright flash of light; almost immediately, the men focused their attention on him. Several of the bullets struck him but they were unable to penetrate the subcutaneous steel layer that served as an internal suit of armor. He held his hands together in preparation for an Aura Sphere attack. A bullet struck his chest but he ignored that. He fired off the blue energy sphere at a main trying to draw a bead on his trainer. The sphere struck home, completely disintegrating the man's upper body and showering blood and tissue everywhere. The concussive shockwave knocked down and possibly killed two other grunts near him. A red beam lanced through the air, narrowly missing his head, as a grunt fired a Thunder Wave stun pistol.

Seeing as Aura Sphere's charge time would make him vulnerable to a stun pistol – the red energy beam of which could knock him out instantly – he decided to switch to melee combat. He rushed one man, slamming his iron-plated fist into his jaw, shattering it and snapping his head back. He then followed it up with another equally devastating punch, making the man recoil. He then finished off the combo with a roundhouse kick to the man's chest, shattering his sternum and sending him flying into a wall, where he slid down, unconscious or dead, to the ground. He then rushed another grunt as another stun beam struck the floor behind him. The man was taken off guard and neutralized with a Force Palm to the head. The shockwave that the attack produced was powerful enough to actually crack the man's skull, even through a helmet. Lucario got up and looked for more targets.

One desperate grunt tried to shoot Lucario in the neck – one of the only two areas that did not have the subcutaneous steel armor. Lucario dodged just in time and the stray bullet caught another grunt just below the base of the neck, fatally wounding him.

He then rushed the nearest grunt and the two were soon locked in a clinch. The man directed a knee strike to his abdomen. The blow was so powerful that Lucario actually felt the impact through his steel armor. Surprisingly, the hulking man didn't flinch even though he had just kneed solid metal. Lucario countered with a knee of his own to the man's chest and heard the _crack_ of at least one of the man's ribs breaking. Suddenly, Lucario was knocked off his feet and slammed to the steel floor rather forcefully by the man. This immediately tipped him off that said grunt was a psychic. Granted, Lucario was aware of the fact that psychic humans tended to be slightly stronger than normal humans and they were capable of augmenting their strength with psychic powers but it was a whole 'nother story to feel it first hand. Lucario tried to recover, but the man was on top of him in an instant, trying to choke him out. He then wriggled out from the man's chokehold just before be blacked out and then pinned the man down and placed him in a chokehold.

The grunt, having absolutely no qualms about fighting dirty, grabbed hold of Lucario's genitalia – the other unarmored part – and squeezed as hard possible, making matters worse, he used his psychic powers to augment his strength.

Lucario gritted his teeth as tears of pain ran down his face. He would not let this man win, even though he felt like a freight train ran over his crotch.

He was totally unaware that the last grunt had taken aim at Lucario's neck with his pistol (his Thunder Wave stunner had gotten lost in the battle) and was moments away from pulling the trigger.

* * *

Riley had managed to take cover behind a large steel crate. Even though several of the bullets had struck the crate, none had penetrated as the bullets that the grunts were using were special rounds made from sintered metal. These so-called "frangible" rounds were designed to break apart upon impact with hard metal surfaces – like what made up the majority of the _Hikokyu II_. For obvious reasons, non-frangible ammunition was not allowed onboard the airship.

He stuck his head over the crate and spotted the last grunt. Thinking quickly, a gold corona formed on his right hand as he prepared to launch his own Aura Sphere. He pointed at the gunman and a golden elongated "dart" of aura leapt from his finger and sped towards its target. While Riley's Aura "Sphere" traveled slightly faster than Lucario's version of said attack, it was weaker and was non-explosive. Even then, the bolts were still capable of causing deep bruises, breaking bones or even killing.

Just before the man pulled the trigger, something clipped his pistol, sending it skittering on the metal floor. He quickly scanned the area and found Riley poking his head over a crate. He dove out of the way of another golden bolt, seized his pistol and rolled into a kneeling position in one smooth motion.

Riley was forced to keep his head down as the bullets struck the crate and bulkhead, showering him with metal dust. As soon as he heard the gun click empty, he launched another aura bolt, striking the man in the head and instantly knocking him out. He then got out from behind cover and spotted Lucario awkwardly waddling towards him.

"What happened?" he asked.

Lucario frowned. "Do the words 'nut crusher' mean anything to you?"

That told Riley all he needed to know; he recalled Lucario so he could recover from his painful injury.

At this point, another grunt came on the scene. Riley immediately charged an aura bolt but he stopped once the "grunt" removed his helmet, revealing Factory Head Noland.

"Noland?" he asked.

Noland nodded. "Yeah and-" He noticed the enormous fan shaped spray of blood on the wall next to the hallway he just entered along with a piece of a human skull next to his foot. He looked up and noticed that there was blood covering the lights on the ceiling – along with everything else near the "blast zone". He was speechless at the carnage wreaked.

"Aura Sphere," Riley replied without skipping a beat.

Noland looked somewhat queasy as he swiped the stolen ID card in the reader next to the door. The reader beeped and the door slowly slid open with the creak of powerful motors. "Now let's examine this and get out of here," he said. "Before I puke my guts out," he added.

Soon, the massive doors were fully opened and the two entered the hold. They were astonished by what lay in front of them. Several priceless statues, carvings and other artifacts were scattered throughout the hold. Riley recognized several of them: a genuine time flower, the cape of Sir Aaron and a heroic nude of Sir Aaron's Lucario.

Noland immediately spotted the Legendaries in the rear of the hold. "Come on! Let's just free the Legendaries and get out of here!"

"Going somewhere?" Charon asked. Unbeknownst to the two, the group inside the security room overlooking the hold had seen everything. At the same time, two completely nude grunts walked in through the open door. These two grunts were the ones who had their clothes stolen by Noland.

"Uh…"

Charon smiled. "Didn't think so! Take them down!"

The group inside the security room did not carry firearms but they were very talented hand-to-hand fighters. They then charged the two, intending to pummel them to bloody pulp.

"I suppose you have a plan?" Riley asked as he assumed a fighting stance.

"I'd like to say-" Noland was cut off as he took a punch to the jaw. He shook his head to clear it and blocked another blow from the grunt as he delivered a right hook to his abdomen. Before he could follow up, another grunt grabbed him from behind in a chokehold. The first grunt seized the opportunity and wasted no time in using Noland's head as a speedbag.

"Hold on! I'm-" Riley grabbed the leg of a grunt as she tried to kick him and shoved her to the ground. He then prepared to deliver the finishing blow – a stomp to the chest – but the woman knocked him down with a leg sweep. Unfortunately, this was the cue for several of the grunts to start stomping and kicking him.

Noland was on the verge of consciousness from the rain of blows and blood streamed down his face but the grunt showed no sign of letting him go. Luckily for him, the grunt who applied the chokehold was one who had his clothes stolen by Noland. This allowed Noland to grab his genitals and pull as hard as possible. This provoked a yell of pain as the naked fighter let go of him. Unfortunately, this now meant that there were two fighters who were intent on beating him bloody. He awkwardly blocked a punch from the nude fighter and threw a drunken right hook that somehow connected and managed to have enough power to knock him out.

* * *

Meanwhile, the noise of the brawl reached the ears of the Legendaries inside the hold. They all rushed to the front of the cell and stared at the fight that was going on.

"You can do it!" Jirachi shouted.

"Go Noland!" Rayquaza cried.

"Beat their asses!" Shaymin shouted.

"BEAT THEM!" Dialga added.

"You can do it, Riley!" Latias shouted

Soon the entire hold was a cacophony of shouting, blows landing, and cheering from the Legendaries.

* * *

Riley crawled out from beneath the hail of stomps and kicks. He spat out a broken tooth and staggered back to his feet. He threw a punch at one of the grunts, who grabbed his arm and placed him in a painful armbar. Riley then painfully stretched his body and pointed his free hand at the grunt's head. He fired his aura dart, instantly knocking out – or killing – the man. Unfortunately, the flash of gold light had attracted the attention of the other grunts. Realizing that he was an aura user – the biggest threat – the other grunts swarmed him in an attempt to bring him down as quickly and as violently as possible.

Noland was wrestling with the only grunt who did not go after Riley. This grunt also had his clothes stolen by Noland and was currently fighting in the nude. Both the combatants were exhausted from the protracted wrestling match and each was desperate to finish the other off. The grunt quickly got atop Noland and drew his arm back in preparation to punch him. Noland groped for his poké ball and shot the man in the face with the return beam. The man instantly became limp and Noland shoved him off.

Meanwhile, Riley was surrounded by five grunts, all of whom were currently beating him. Noland looked at the fight; if he joined in, he would probably end up severely injured. He then remembered that the Legendaries were nearby. He smiled as he limped over to the cell in the rear of the hold.

* * *

The Legendaries were stunned by the horrific shape Noland was in. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose; he had two black eyes and to top it off, he had lost several teeth.

"Dude, Noland, you okay?" Rayquaza asked.

Noland ignored him as he looked around for a way to disable the shield generator on the cell. He then noticed a locked cabinet near the cell. He rummaged in his pockets for the appropriate tool and found a pocket prybar. He then quickly pried the hinges off and removed the door. Luckily for him, the cabinet held the switchgear for the shield generators in this area. Unfortunately, the switchgear ran at thirty kilovolts and over 500 amperes; contact with it would be invariably fatal. He looked around for something to protect him before he undertook his next step. He settled on a nearby heroic nude statue of Giratina and ducked behind it. He grabbed his poké ball and lobbed it with an overhand toss at the electrified switchgear. As soon as he did so, he ducked behind the statue and covered his ears.

As soon as the metal sphere touched the electrified equipment, it instantly short-circuited it, triggering a devastating blast. A flash as blinding as the sun issued from the cabinet as the metal instantly vaporized and the air expanded with a roar like thunder. The shockwave blasted searing hot metal vapor and droplets of molten metal from the cabinet.

As soon as it started; it was over. Noland peered out from behind the statue. The area around the cabinet was blackened and scorched and the nearest parts had been ablated by the intense heat. Small metal spheres – all that was left of the poké ball and the copper wiring – littered the floor. The air reeked of ozone and heated metal.

"Well that was quite a spectacle," Rayquaza said. Luckily, Arceus had used Barrier to protect them all from the blast.

"Dialga, get us out with Stone Edge!" Arceus ordered as soon as she noticed that the bars were no longer charged.

The God of Time had another idea; his backfin expanded as he took in energy and an indigo orb formed in front of his open mouth.

Everyone's eyes widened. "No! Don't use that!" they all cried.

It was too late; Dialga unleashed the devastating indigo beam, instantly reducing the metal bars to a cloud of metal vapor. Unfortunately, the beam rebounded off one of the few intact shields – ironically, the one that protected a heroic nude of Giratina. Everyone tried to get out of the way but at such close range, it was too fast to dodge and the beam struck Dialga. Soon, the God of Time was enveloped in a white glow. After a few seconds, the white glow disappeared revealing… Baby Dialga!

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?" Dialga demanded; shocked by his much smaller body and much higher voice.

"Serves you right," Shaymin replied.

"I HATE YOU!"

Noland emerged from behind the statue. He did a double take as he saw Dialga. Normally, Dialga was over seventeen feet tall but could shrink down to seven feet. Somehow, Dialga had shrunk down to two feet! "Is that Dialga?" he asked.

"OF COURSE IT'S ME!" Dialga squeaked.

"Okay, yeah, uh Riley's getting the crap beaten out of him. Could you please give him some help?"

Latios and Latias both glowed blue as they simultaneously combined their Psychic attack. All the grunts pounding on Riley were picked up and slammed into walls until they were dead or unconscious.

Noland ran over to Riley. Much to his horror, Riley had been beaten so badly that he was totally unconscious. "Guys! Riley's hurt, bad!"

"Leave him behind and let's get out of here!" Shaymin said.

"Shaymin, do you have _any_ sense of decency?" Latias asked.

Arceus, quickly looking around the hold, formulated a plan. "All right, we don't have much time so do as I say; don't ask questions," she said. "Noland, you find a way to open the exterior door. Jirachi, you heal Riley. Latias, you watch Dialga. Latios, Shaymin, you two watch the interior door. Rayquaza, you help Noland. Giratina and I will grab our treasures. Get moving!"

By this time, Dialga started crying because no one was paying attention to him. Latias picked him up and gently rocked him to sleep. At the same time, everyone else took their positions.

Jirachi floated over to Riley and used Wish. A white sphere emerged from his body and entered Riley's unconscious form. He then stood watch over him.

Noland donned his oxygen mask and ran over to the rear door. He found a card reader at the back of the room by the door. He swiped the stolen ID card and the card was summarily rejected. He tried again only to get the same result.

He was about to try again but Rayquaza stopped him. "Do that too many times and you'll set off an alarm."

Noland swore until he noticed that the low hum of a shield generator was not present on this door. "Hey, Rayquaza, the door's not shielded!"

Rayquaza opened his mouth in preparation for a Hyper Beam.

Meanwhile, Giratina and Arceus were busy ransacking the hold. Even though they used attacks like Stone Edge and Outrage, they were careful not to damage the other priceless artifacts in the hold.

Arceus smashed a display case holding her Jewel of Life. She telekinetically picked it up and it sunk into her body.

Suddenly, a tremendous explosion ripped through the hold, a sign that Rayquaza had blasted open the rear door. At the same time, klaxons rang throughout the hold and air started rushing out the gaping hole, sucking pieces of glass and other debris out.

"Go! Go! Go!" Arceus shouted.

Giratina smashed a display case containing his griseous orb. He levitated it over his body and sprinted to the gaping hole in the rear of the hold. Noland and the now perfectly healed Riley were running towards the other door.

"Where are you going?"

"To our hover skiffs! Our emergency oxygen supply doesn't last long enough to come with you!" Riley shouted over the roaring wind.

Noland struggled to walk to the front entrance. Riley used his aura powers to help him move faster.

Soon, the two made it out of the room just before an emergency blast door sealed off the hold to prevent the whole area from being depressurized.

The sealed door meant that the Legendaries didn't have to contend with bothersome grunts.

"Come on, hurry up!" Rayquaza shouted. He was the first one out of the hold and already levitating in the cold air at 40,000 feet.

"All right, let's do this!" Latios said, speeding out into the night sky.

Latias picked up Shaymin in one arm and a crying Dialga in the other and followed her brother. Jirachi was next.

Giratina took a deep breath as he sprinted out the gaping hole. He then closed his eyes and leapt with all the power he could muster in his six legs. As he entered freefall, he felt the cold air rushing past him. "Griseous orb, activate!" he shouted. Almost immediately, the griseous orb glowed white and sunk into his body, instantly causing all his legs to shrink and his body to assume the serpentine shape of his Origin Forme. Suddenly, he stopped falling as his transformation was complete.

Arceus was the next to fly down from the hole.

"So where do we go?" Rayquaza asked.

"I'M HUNGRY!" Dialga whined.

"Shut up!" Shaymin snapped.

This caused Dialga to start crying. In response, Latias hummed _Oracion,_ and the baby Legendary soon fell asleep in her arms.

"I'll get Riley and Noland," Jirachi said. As childish as he was, he could be just as brave as any of the others if he felt like it.

"It's too dangerous," Rayquaza said, shaking his head.

Jirachi ignored him and flew towards one of spars holding the antigravity pod. There, he spotted a man in a black flight suit heading towards a black hover skiff. The man turned to Jirachi and "spoke".

"_Jirachi,_ _Noland's not coming. He ran into some trouble. I'll take you to the Battle Pyramid," _Rileysaid telepathically. Anticipating Jirachi's response, he telepathed: "_Don't go looking for him."_

Riley then connected himself to his skiff and flew next to Jirachi. After a short flight, they were with the other Legendaries. Some of the Legendaries stared at Riley's hover skiff, while most knew what a hover skiff was; they had never seen a "Noctowl" skiff before.

"_Everyone," _Riley said telepathically, "_follow me._"

Not wanting to get noticed by the _Hikokyu II's_ captain and crew, they followed him as the skiff sped off into the distance.

* * *

**Batt****le Pyramid**

Mew was sleeping in the hangar. Suddenly, he was jolted awake by a klaxon as the rear doors slowly slid open. He immediately recognized the man riding the Noctowl hover skiff as Riley. But much to his surprise, Arceus and several other Legendaries followed.

Fifteen seconds after Rayquaza cleared the door's threshold, it slowly slid shut. As soon as it did so, Riley dismounted his skiff and connected it to its charger. He then headed to the bathroom to change.

"Arceus! Rayquaza! Jirachi! You're all safe!" Mew exclaimed as he sped towards them.

"It's all thanks to you," Giratina said. "If you hadn't escaped the _Hikokyu II_, we would never have been rescued by the Frontier Brains."

Mew then noticed the tiny Dialga next to Shaymin. "What happened to him?"

"Roar of Time accident," Arceus said with a sigh.

"Hey, wanna play tag?" Jirachi asked.

"Sure!" Mew chirped. He then levitated into the air and sped towards the elevator with Jirachi in chase.

Rayquaza sighed. "Come on, let's go meet the captain."

Arceus shrunk herself down to a more manageable six feet and the other outsize Legendaries did so as well. They then headed up the stairs. She then turned around and noticed that Jirachi and Mew were not coming with them. "That means you two as well!" she ordered.

Mew and Jirachi sighed and followed Arceus.

As soon as the Legendaries headed up the stairs, Riley emerged from the bathroom in his usual clothing. He looked around and noticed that the Legendaries were gone. He shrugged and entered the elevator, figuring that they wanted to meet the captain.

The Legendaries found themselves in the deserted atrium of the Battle Pyramid.

"Where is everyone?" Latios asked.

He got no reply except for the crying of baby Dialga, who was on one of the couches.

The elevator arrived and the door opened, revealing Riley. "Ah, so that's where you all went. Could you please stay here while I fetch Captain Brandon?"

The elevator door closed and carried him to the flight deck.

Latios and Latias looked at each other.

"Did he say, 'Captain Brandon'?" Latios asked.

Latias nodded as she tickled baby Dialga, causing him to laugh.

"You know, this would be great to blackmail him with," Shaymin said, climbing onto another couch. "And I need a smoke after that stressful journey."

Giratina sighed and telekinetically tossed her a marijuana joint, which he lit with Will-O-Wisp. He had pilfered the joint from a dead grunt aboard the _Hikokyu II. _She took the joint and took a deep draw.

"Hey anybody wanna a toke?" she asked, levitating the joint around. Everyone stared at her; it was very uncharacteristic of her to share anything.

"Sure," Latios said, taking the joint and taking a puff.

Latias gave a dirty look to her brother. "And you're always telling me that I can't smoke those."

Latios blew some smoke into the air. "Do as I say, not as I do."

Giratina was the next to partake of the joint. He coughed as he inhaled. "Too harsh," he said, passing the joint to Arceus, who politely refused.

Rayquaza also refused the joint. The joint then went back to Shaymin who passed it to Latios again.

Jirachi and Mew had no interest in smoking and they were chasing each other in the dimly lit atrium.

Soon, the elevator door opened, revealing Riley and Brandon.

Brandon sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose as the scent of marijuana permeated the atrium. He spotted Latios with the smoldering joint hanging from the corner of his mouth. "I regret to inform you all that Noland did not make it back," he said solemnly, bowing his head.

Riley followed as did the Legendaries. After a few seconds of silence, Brandon spoke. "Welcome aboard the Battle Pyramid. Your rooms are all on the second floor. Please enjoy our amenities, including a regulation sized battle arena." He then turned to Latios with a frown on his face. "The Battle Pyramid is a drug free zone, get rid of that joint."

"Just one-"

"Now!"

Latios sighed and extinguished the joint by grinding it out in a potted plant. "Killjoy," he muttered.

"On a side note, I am in need of a copilot," Brandon said.

"I'll volunteer," Rayquaza said. He had always wanted to be a pilot but his duties at Sky Pillar ate most of his time. Of course, being the Guardian of the Jet Stream, he had plenty of flight hours. Unfortunately, very little was with large airships (most of it was with his own body and the remainder was with spaceplanes).

"What are your credentials?"

Rayquaza facepalmed. "I'm the Spirit of the Sky! And I have piloted several spaceplanes from Mossdeep Space Center."

"Good enough."

"Question," Giratina said. "Are there any other open positions?"

"You can assist in the galley, help maintain the fleet of hover skiffs and my air car or help maintain the greenhouse below the flight deck."

Suddenly, the elevator leading to the hangar opened and out stepped a severely battered Noland.

"Noland! You're alive!" Riley cried.

Noland nodded. "Is there a medic?" he weakly asked, wiping some blood away from his mouth.

Jirachi raised his hand and used Wish on the battered Frontier Brain. "Head to your room and clean up. The wish will work its fastest when you are asleep or unconscious." Such maturity was uncharacteristic of him but it has been known to occur.

"One question, how did you escape?" Rayquaza asked.

"If this were a movie; I would say plot device but since this is real life, I will just say that I found my skiff and hauled ass out of there," Noland replied. He then headed back to his room to sleep.

"Decide amongst yourselves which rooms you want to sleep in and what how you want to assist. I'll be in the flight deck if you need me," Brandon said.

He and Rayquaza entered the main elevator and rode it to the flight deck. Riley bade the Legendaries goodnight and headed back to his cabin for a much needed rest.

"Well, who wants another smoke?" Shaymin asked, telekinetically picking the joint from the plant pot.

The joint was blasted out of the air by Arceus's Charge Beam and reduced to a pile of ash. Luckily, the electric beam hadn't struck anything else but the joint. "Shaymin, if Captain Brandon says there is no smoking on his ship, there will be no smoking," Arceus scolded, glaring at Shaymin.

"Why? He's just an ordinary human. We shouldn't have to take orders from him."

"There's something called 'respect'; humans give it to us and we give it back to them. Learn about it; it'll really help you," Giratina spat.

Giratina's words explained why some of the Legendaries were content to travel with pokémon trainers and take commands from them. Of course this benefited the Legendaries as well; either in the form of monetary compensation, unusual moves that they couldn't learn themselves, glory or sometimes romantic interaction.

* * *

Rayquaza and Brandon entered the flight deck. Brandon motioned to a seat that was placed in the far corner of the flight deck. Another console was placed in front of the seat.

"Brandon, I can't sit down because I have no legs!" Rayquaza said.

"Right, sorry," Brandon said absentmindedly as he shut down the autopilot and set the engines to "forward". "Give me our location."

Rayquaza nodded as he hovered in the air and scanned over the console. A map of the world showed up on a monitor. He quickly tapped into the GPS satellites and locked onto the airship's position. "We are over Mt. Quena and a little over one hundred klicks from the Sinnoh border," he said. He also provided their longitude and latitude.

"Thank you. We must put as much distance between us and the opposing airship as fast as possible," Brandon replied.

Rayquaza scratched his chin. "If I may, Captain, I suggest we go to the Hoenn region," he said, examining the coordinates. "But the nearest airport in that region that can accommodate such a large airship is over 643 kilometers away."

Brandon shrugged. "No matter. We have enough fuel to get there." He then changed the ship's heading.

Rayquaza examined the airspeed indicator and made calculations on a nearby notepad. "Our airspeed is currently seventy knots. I estimate that our cruising speed should be reached in about six minutes. But even then, we are looking at a flight of over three hours."

Suddenly, a large blast rocked the airship.

Brandon swore and activated the emergency power switch; luckily, Sam hadn't turned off the turbine.

Rayquaza watched as the airspeed indicator climbed past one hundred knots. "Captain, does this airship have any weapons?"

"No, but we do have a shield generator to protect against pokémon attacks," Brandon replied as he activated the ship's shield generator.

The Legendaries in the atrium got to see what caused the explosion – an AIM-12 Spearow radar guided air-to-air missile with an annular blast-fragmentation warhead. The AIM-12 was a Kantoian copy of the American made AIM-7 Sparrow – which explained their similar names.

Arceus immediately took the initiative and ordered the Lati siblings and Jirachi to reinforce the area with Protect. Shaymin had been assigned to wake up the crew, which was not necessary since Brandon had already done so with the intercom. Riley added his own aura powered barriers to reinforce the area.

* * *

The Legendaries were treated to the sight of two more AIM-12 missiles heading their way and detonating about ten meters away with a blinding flash. The sound of shrapnel bombarding the corundum windows of the Battle Pyramid echoed throughout the area. Luckily, these missiles relied on fragmentation to do damage – something that the Battle Pyramid's corundum windows and armored engine nacelles could easily shrug off.

"They don't give up, do they?" Latias said.

"Way to state the obvious," Riley replied.

* * *

Back in the flight deck, Rayquaza and Brandon were busy sizing up the situation. The twin blasts of the missiles sprayed shrapnel against the flight deck windows but the transparent corundum easily withstood the metal shards.

"No pokémon are detected. Missiles launched from approximately 15.5 kilometers away." Rayquaza said examining the radar screen. The only thing visible on the radar screen was the large green blob that represented the _Hikoyu II_.

Brandon ignored him as he fiddled with the control panel.

The shield generators mounted on the Battle Pyramid were designed to absorb pokémon attacks and other energy based weapons such as laser cannons; in addition, they also provided protection against heat and radiation. They were completely useless against solid projectiles such as bullets or rockets.

Obviously in such a situation as this; the shield generators were worse than useless – they consumed so much power that the airship's speed and acceleration was negatively affected. This was shown by the airspeed indicator ticking down from one hundred knots. By the time the shields were fully shut down, the airspeed indicator had bottomed out at sixty-five knots. Luckily, as soon as the shields were shut down, the airspeed indicator's numbers began to climb at a steady rate until it reached 132 knots – and began to climb even higher.

* * *

The _Hikokyu II_ continued to give chase to the Battle Pyramid for several minutes. Even though using the "Altaria" gravity seeker missile would have been a smarter choice (the missile carried an impact fuse and a payload of explosives nearly double that of the "Spearow" – it was intended for attacking heavily armored airships), Bosch – the _Hikokyu II_'s AI – decided that a volley of three "Spearow" missiles would be enough to destroy the airship. Lapses in judgment like this were not common but they were the reason that militaries rarely gave shipboard AIs command over weapons systems.

Thankfully, the Battle Pyramid easily outran the _Hikokyu II_.

"Rayquaza, status on the pursuing ship!" Noland barked.

Rayquaza examined the radar screen. "No longer visible. Possibly out of range or pursuit has been broken off."

"Excellent, I'm going to sleep. I trust that the Battle Pyramid is in capable hands?"

Rayquaza saluted. "You can count on me Captain."

Brandon then returned the salute and headed back to his quarters to sleep.

Rayquaza turned his head and noticed that a red light was blinking on the main console. He hovered over to the main console. To his horror, the temperature gauges for all five of the engines showed that they were at dangerous levels - thanks to Brandon shutting off every nonessential system and shunting the spare power to the engines and of course, running the turbines at 100 percent capacity. He immediately shut down the emergency power, dialed back power to the antigravity engines and radioed the engine room. He was able to accomplish this in under a minute thanks to his telekinetic abilities.

"Engine room, this is Captain Rayquaza, set all turbines to fifty percent output and shut down the emergency power!"

* * *

Inside the fourth floor engine control room, Sam was jolted awake by Rayquaza's voice. To say he was surprised to hear Rayquaza's voice was an understatement.

He picked up the intercom. "Where is Captain Brandon?" he asked sleepily.

"Shut off the fucking turbines!" Rayquaza shouted through the intercom.

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Not wanting to have his sleep disturbed by Rayquaza's constant shouting, he put his shoes on and took a seat in front of the console as shut down the emergency turbine and throttled back the rest.

"All right! It's done. And I'm going to sleep," Sam said. _"Wake me up when I'm in my room and you'll regret it,"_ he thought.

He yawned, summoned the elevator and rode it to the second floor where he headed to his room to sleep.

* * *

Back at the flight deck, Rayquaza held his breath as the blue indicator light for emergency power winked out. The airspeed began to drop from 160 knots at a steady rate but the temperature gauges still remained well in the danger zone.

"Come on," Rayquaza said, staring at the temperature gauges. Seconds ticked by with no change. He began to grow nervous; at these high temperatures, it was only a matter of time before one of the engines burst into flame.

After an agonizing minute of staring at the digital displays, the temperature gauges gradually began to fall back into the normal ranges. Of course, the airspeed was a pitiful forty knots but it was not possible to run the engines at such a high power when they were overheating.

Rayquaza let out a sigh of relief as the temperature gauges began to slowly fall back into the normal ranges.

He levitated and looked at the night sky through the flight deck's corundum windows as he calculated the time it would take to reach their destination.

He let out a sigh as the results came on the screen: 7.42 hours. All he could do was enjoy the night sky, which now showed the barest trace of gold on the horizon as the sun began to rise.


End file.
